THE 



LIFE OF ELIJAH 



BY THE REV. DANIEL SMITH, 

il 

OF THE NEW-YORK CONFERENCE. 



1 Elijah with his mantle smote the flood, 
And Jordan's hastening waves divided stood; 
The fiery chariot, on the farther shore, 
Deathless to'heaven i.h' ascending- prophet bore. . 
• IVIy father !' cried Elisha, as he flew,' 
' See Israel's chariot, and his horsemen tod ;' 
Then with the mantle, as it dropp'd behind, 
Came down a power like mighty-rushing wind, 
And, as he wrapt the trophy round his breast, 
Elij all's spirit Elisl.a's soul possest." Montgomery.. 



NEW-YORK : 



PUBLISHED BYT. MASON AND G. LANE, 

For the Sunday School Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 

at the Conference Office, 200 Mulberry-street. 

J. Collord, Printer*. 
1839. 






" Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 
1839, by T. Mason and G. Lane, in the Clerk's Office 
of the District Court of the Southern District of New- 
York." 




0? 



THE 

LIFE OF ELIJAH. ttP 



CHAPTER I. 

Prophets — Elijah — Character of Ahab and Jezebel — 
Elijah's message — Wickedness of Israel — Elijah flees 
from Ahab — Fed by ravens at the brook Cherith. 

Among the ancient Israelites were 
a particular kind of ministers, called 
prophets. They were generally men 
who neither possessed nor cared for 
the riches, honours, or pleasures of 
this world ; they usually lived in re- 
tired places ; though being greatly es- 
teemed by good kings, they some- 
times resided at court. They were 
distinguished for the holiness of their 
lives ; their zeal for God and the true 
religion; and their opposition to injus- 
tice, oppression, idolatry, and every 



6 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

species of irreligion. They espoused 
the cause of the poor, the fatherless, 
and the widow, against their oppress- 
ors ; and they fearlessly remonstrat- 
ed with the nobles of the land, and 
even with kings, for their violations 
of the law of God. They were God's 
chosen messengers to counsel kings 
to enforce his laws and worship, 
and to oppose national vice and error. 
They were often endowed with the 
pewer of foreseeing future events ; and 
were commissioned to forewarn the 
people of coming judgments and ca- 
lamities. In the discharge of their duty 
they w r ere firm and undaunted ; even 
death in its worst forms could not de- 
ter them from delivering the messages 
with which God had intrusted them. 
These prophets were continued among 
the Israelites for many centuries in a 
regular succession. They delivered 
predictions on many occasions and on 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 7 

a great variety of subjects ; some of 
which were fulfilled immediately, 
others after the lapse of centuries, 
and some are even now fulfilling. 

Among these holy ministers was 
the Prophet Elijah ; he was called 
Elijah the Tishbite, probably from the 
name of the place where he was born 
or lived. We are not informed in 
what year he was born, nor who were 
his parents ; but his birth must have 
occurred a little more than nine hun- 
dred years before the birth of the Sa- 
viour; or more than two thousand 
seven hundred years since. He is 
first introduced to our notice as a mes- 
senger of God to Ahab, the wicked 
king of Israel. 

I must here pause in the history of 
Elijah to give you some account of 
Ahab and the people over whom he 
reigned. After the twelve sons of 
Jacob had become a great nation, and 



8 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

had been led out of Egypt by Moses, 
and into the land of Canaan by Jo- 
shua, they were first governed by 
judges : finally, wishing to be like 
other nations, they asked of God, 
through Samuel the prophet, to give 
them a king. Saul was the first king, 
and David his successor; the next 
was Solomon, and after him Rehobo- 
am. This last king, being inexperi- 
enced, and not any too wise, and 
showing a disposition to follow rash 
counsels, and oppress his people, ten 
tribes revolted from him, and appoint- 
ed Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, to be 
their king. Jeroboam was a wicked 
king. The tribes of Israel had been 
accustomed to worship in the magnifi- 
cent temple at Jerusalem, which Solo- 
mon had built : this temple was in 
the possession of the two tribes, Ju- 
dah and Benjamin, who still continu- 
ed under Rehoboam. Jeroboam, fear- 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 9 

ing if the people under his govern- 
ment went to Jerusalem to worship at 
the three great annual feasts, — the 
feast of the passover, the feast of pen- 
tecost, and the feast of tabernacles, — 
they would conclude to go back under 
the king of Judah, determined to set 
up a sort of opposition worship in 
Israel ; he therefore made two golden 
calves, and set them up, one at Bethel 
and the other at Dan, and commenc- 
ed seducing the people from the wor- 
ship of the true God into idolatry. 
From this time the people, following 
their wicked king and his wicked 
successors, waxed worse and worse, 
until true piety appeared almost root- 
ed out of the nation. Ahab was one 
of the successors of Jeroboam; he 
reigned twenty-two years, and held 
his court at Samaria : he married Je- 
zebel, daughter of the king of Zidon; 
she was a gross idolater, and a most 



10 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

cruel and blood-thirsty woman : she 
introduced the worship of Baal, which 
seems to have superceded, during the 
reign of Ahab, that of Jeroboam's gold- 
en calves. Ahab, though better in- 
structed, followed her in all her abomi- 
nable idolatry ; and they together be- 
came the curse and scourge of the na- 
tion. The sacred historian tells us 
Ahab did more to provoke the Lord 
God of Israel to anger than all the 
kings of Israel that went before him. 

We will now return to the Prophet 
Elijah. The Scriptures introduce him 
as addressing Ahab, saying, " As the 
Lord God of Israel liveth, there shall 
not be dew nor rain these years but 
according to my word." 

Probably he had before warned 
Ahab, and reproved him for his wick- 
edness ; and the people of Israel, who 
were not obliged to sin because their 
rulers did, had doubtless received 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 11 

many reproofs from God ; still they 
disregarded them ; the law of God, 
which had been given amid thunder- 
ings and lightnings, and the quaking 
of mount Sinai, was forgotten, or re- 
membered only to be trampled upon. 
The dreadful judgment of the flood ; 
the thousands slain for their idolatry 
in the wilderness ; and all the threat- 
nings against sin, uttered by Moses 
from the mouth of God, were unheed- 
ed. And, as 

" A foe to God was ne'er true friend to man," 

so justice and mercy, between man 
and man, had fled from Israel. The 
strong bore down and destroyed the 
weak; the cry of the widow was lost 
amid the uproar and madness of the 
times; the orphan had no protector, 
and the innocent were a prey to the 
guilty. 

In what a horrid state is a nation 
which has forsaken God ! We have 



12 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

a picture of this in modern times. 
France denied the God of heaven ; its 
rulers pronounced death to be "an 
eternal sleep ;" shut its churches ; 
overthrew its altars, and scoffed at 
the Bible. The consequence was, 
that the whole nation seemed trans- 
formed into a horde of lawless sa- 
vages ; and the country, deluged in 
blood, appeared converted into one 
vast slaughter-house. Innocence it- 
self was treated as a crime ; tens of 
thousands perished by violence ; the 
nations looked on aghast, and wonder- 
ed at the depravity of human nature. 
In the midst of even such times, 
God often raises up some faithful and 
true witnesses, who, unawed by the 
boldness of vice, openly testify against 
it ; such was the Prophet Elijah. He 
loved his God and his country, and 
seeing both dishonoured by sin, and 
knowing that desperate diseases re- 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 13 

quire strong remedies, he prayed to 
God to vindicate his own worship and 
honour; he asked him to cure the 
people by judgments. His prayer 
was answered ; and he w r as sent to 
Ahab with the alarming tidings that the 
bottles of heaven should be stopped; 
and there should not be " rain nor dew." 
Do you suppose Ahab believed this 
message? By no means. We may 
suppose, as the prophet utters it, he 
casts his eye abroad over the spread- 
ing landscape before him ; the fields 
are clothed with grain, gently waving 
as the zephyrs blow over them ; the 
fig-trees are laden with delicious fruit, 
and the olive-trees are even now bend- 
ing under their load. The lily of the 
valley and the rose of Sharon are in 
bloom: the tow r ering palm-trees, rising 
like a beautiful colonnade, around the 
springs and beside the rivulets, are 
ornamented with their crowm of dark 



14 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

green leaves ; the cattle are grazing 
upon the hills ; and all nature wears 
an aspect of freshness and beauty. 

The eye of Ahab returns from its 
excursion, and falls scornfully upon 
the prophet ; his lip is curled with con- 
tempt; abusing present mercies to 
encourage himself in continued sin, 
his countenance seems to say, " Be- 
hold all this ! Why has not God 
already dried up the springs and 
parched the earth with drought ?" 

Elijah retires in silence. God, the 
God of Elijah, well knows that Ahab 
is capable of any dark deed which the 
blood-thirsty Jezebel may suggest; he 
therefore says to Elijah, " Get thee 
hence, and turn thee eastward, and 
hide thyself by the brook Cherith, 
that is before Jordan." "So he went 
and did according to the word of the 
Lord; for he went and dwelt by the 
brook Cherith, that is before Jordan." 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 15 

Here Elijah finds himself in a most 
solitary situation : he is far from the 
habitations of men ; there is no voice 
of friend to beguile the hours ; he has 
no roof to shelter him from the scorch- 
ing rays of the sun. or the cool winds 
of evening. His slumbers are broken 
by the howling of beasts of prey at 
night, — by day the wild goat leaps 
from crag to crag along the precipices ; 
the conies peep out of their holes, and 
gaze upon the strange form that has 
unexpectedly appeared amid their 
rocks. The brook goes dancing on 
its way ; and the hoarse croaking of 
the raven mingles with the murmur 
of the stream. Here, in this deep soli- 
tude, you might suppose the prophet 
must be very unhappy. But no, it is 
quite otherwise : if he is sad at all, it 
is, when as a patriot and a prophet, he 
is musing on the sins and calamities 
of Israel. For himself he is not lone- 



16 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

ly — God is with him : though Ahab 
and Jezebel hunt for his precious life, 
he does not fear them; Jehovah is 
his protector. He is not comfortless ; 
for he communes with the fountain of 
happiness. But how is he to obtain 
a supply for his daily wants ? He has 
no fields of grain, or vines, or olive- 
yards : we do not learn that there 
were even " locusts or wild honey" 
here. There is no friend to steal away 
from the watchful spies of Ahab by 
night, and bring him bread ; and if he 
stirs in search of it, he is exposed to 
be hunted down as though he were the 
common enemy of mankind. But he 
is God's servant, and there is no lack 
of means with him. 

There are the ravens — birds of a 
solitary disposition, disposed to seek 
out provisions to carry to their places 
of abode, and delighting to live about 
brooks of water — these, or any thing 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH, 17 

else, are God's instruments, when he 
pleases to employ them. He can as 
well commission them to bring bread 
and meat to the prophet, as use clay- 
to open the eyes of one born blind. 
So the ravens brought him bread and 
flesh in the morning, and bread and 
flesh in the evening ; and he drank 
of the brook. 

2 



18 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 



CHAPTER II. 

The brook Cherith dries up — Elijah is sent to dwell 
with a widow of Zarepheth of Zidon— Himself and the fa- 
mily of his hostess are sustained by a miracle — The son 
of the widow dies, and Elijah restores him to life — The 
widow believes God. 

Every source of earthly comfort 
will in time run dry ; but they who 
trust in the all-sufficient God will find 
living waters of consolation that never 
fail. 

According to Elijah's prediction, 
there is "no rain nor dew;" the re- 
servoirs in the mountains are gradu- 
ally exhausted ; the springs that gush- 
ed from the sides of the hills are no 
longer fed from these fountains ; they 
fail, and the brooks are dry. 

Elijah can now no longer drink 
from the brook Cherith, which has 
disappeared, and left only its dry and 
dusty channel. Yet God has by no 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 19 

means abandoned his servant : for the 
word of the Lord came unto him, say- 
ing, " Arise, get thee to Zarepheth, 
which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell 
there ; behold, I have commanded a 
widow woman there to sustain thee." 
Elijah had tarried by the brook un- 
til it was quite dry ; day after day 
he saw it wasting away — he knew 
what was to sustain him when the 
water failed — but he trusted in God, 
and did not attempt to remove until he 
received an order to do so. Now he 
is commanded to go and take up his 
abode in Zarepheth. He knows not 
the person with whom he is to live ; 
the famine is there : it is a citv of the 
Gentiles ; and he may also be expos- 
ed to the rage of Jezebel, who may 
find him out, and seize upon him 
there. But he has God's warrant — 
that is enough. He goes without fear, 
asking no questions : a word of pro- 



20 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

mise from God is better than a thou- 
sand arguments. Elijah obeys God ; 
and though his hostess is a total 
stranger, yet Providence leads the 
way, and he meets with the person 
who is to entertain him at the gate of 
the city, — " for behold, the widow wo- 
man was there, gathering sticks." 

God informed Elijah that was the 
person ; and he called to her, and said, 
" Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water 
in a vessel, that I may drink." And 
as she was going to fetch it, he called 
to her, and said, " Bring me, I pray 
thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand." 
And she said, " As the Lord thy God 
liveth, I have not a cake, but a hand- 
ful of meal in a barrel and a little oil 
in a cruise ; and behold, I am gather- 
ing two sticks, that I may go in and 
dress it for me and my son, that we 
may eat it and die." And Elijah said 
unto her, "Fear not; go and do as 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 21 

thou hast said, but make me thereof 
a little cake first, and bring it unto 
me ; and after make for thee and for 
thy son. For thus saith the Lord 
God of Israel, The barrel of meal 
shall not waste, neither shall the 
cruise of oil fail until the day that the 
Lord sendeth rain upon the earth." And 
she went and did according to the say- 
ing of Elijah ; and she, and he, and 
her house did eat many days ; and 
the barrel of meal wasted not, neither 
did the cruise of oil fail: according to 
the word of the Lord, which he spake 
by Elijah. 

Here let us remark, first, the good- 
ness of God in providing his servant 
with a home in a pious family. Se- 
condly, the conduct of this woman — 
it is worthy of all praise : she was 
about to cook her last morsel, and 
never expected another ; but, at the 
prophet's command, she goes and 



22 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

brings the first offering to him. Her 
self-love, her affection for her famish- 
ing son, the fact that he who address- 
ed her was a stranger, might all have 
furnished objections. She might have 
said, "Let me and my son partake 
first, and then, if the flour and oil hold 
out, according to thy word, I will sup- 
ply thy wants." But here was genu- 
ine faith ; here an example of trust in 
God w r orthy of everlasting remem- 
brance. 

Again, what an admirable deliver- 
ance is here for a distressed widow : 
her condition was most afflicting. A 
widow, in ordinary circumstances, is 
an object of sympathy : the guide of 
her youth, her protector and provider 
is gone : the dreadful stroke of death 
has left her lonely and desolate. Ava- 
rice and oppression, which single out 
the defenceless as a prey, are every- 
where. Thus, the very term widow 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 23 

awakens the sympathy of a feeling 
heart at the combination of sorrows 
which it implies. 

But picture to yourself the distress 
of this widow in these extraordinary 
times of mournful calamity. It is now 
many months, and no rain or dew 
has descended to moisten the parch- 
ed earth ; every blade of grass has 
withered ; the fields, instead of being 
covered with the golden harvest, are 
dry and dusty ; the leaves and fruit 
have withered upon the vine and olive- 
trees ; there are no blooming flowers 
in the fields. The winds, that used 
to come cool and refreshing, wafting 
the perfume of a thousand fragrant 
plants, come now, bearing clouds of 
dust, and are hot and suffocating. The 
earth, once verdant, and carpeted with 
the most lovely green, is now deso- 
late, and like a heated furnace. The 
mournful lowing of the famishing cat- 



24 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH- 

tie, and the bleating of the flocks, are 
heard in every direction. 

The fruits of former years being 
now nearly exhausted, men are seen 
feebly tottering about ; their bones ap- 
pear as though ready to start through 
the skin ; their eyes are deep sunken 
in their sockets ; their voices are hol- 
low and sepulchral; and every day 
processions of walking skeletons are 
seen slowly and feebly moving to the 
place of sepulture, with the corpses 
of those who have perished by the 
famine. 

To increase the general distress, 
men seem to have lost every feeling 
of humanity. Goaded almost to mad- 
ness by the fierceness of their appe- 
tites, they break over all bounds, and 
the weak and defenceless become a 
prey to the strong. 

It was in the midst of such times 
and scenes that deliverance was sent 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 25 

to this afflicted widow. God sends his 
prophet, with the promise that neither 
" the barrel of meal nor the cruise of 
oil shall fail until rain descend again 
upon the earth." 

There were doubtless many other 
widows in Israel and Zidon, and per- 
haps some of them "who had not 
bowed the knee to Baal ;" but God 
was afflicting the people for their sins ; 
and if some of the righteous do suffer 
with the wicked in times of public 
calamity, God knows how to sustain 
them here, and will make them abun- 
dantly richer for their trials hereafter; 
for " all things work together for good 
to those who love God." 

Elijah remained about two years at 
Zarephath. It was a delightful place 
on the shores of the Mediterranean 
Sea, between Tyre and Sidon, but 
nearest to the latter. M. Maundrell 
observes, that it is the same which is 



26 : - THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

now called Sarphan, about three 
hours' travel from Sidon, in the way 
to Tyre. It consists, at present, of 
but a few houses on the top of the 
mountain ; but there is reason to be- 
lieve the principal part of the city 
stood formerly in the plain below, as 
there are ruins to be seen there of 
considerable extent. Before it was 
the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, 
which was at that day the " highway 
of nations." On its bosom were the 
merchant ships, spreading their snow- 
white canvass to catch the breezes : 
the far-famed Lebanon rose sublime- 
ly behind it. Its height was ten thou- 
sand feet above the level of the sea. 
It is thus described by a modern tra- 
veller : — 

"Its towering summit is covered! 
with eternal snow, — a striking spec- 
tacle in such a climate, where the be- 
holder, seeking protection from a 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 27 

burning sun, almost considers the fir- 
mament to be on fire ; cascades and 
waterfalls are sparkling on every side, 
and delightful odours are sent forth 
in delicious profusion from the fra- 
grant plants that grow upon its sides ; 
while dark and terrible ravines cause 
the idea of terrific grandeur to be min- 
gled with the softness and beauty of 
its features. This mountain was the 
delight of King Solomon ; and has 
been spoken of by him in the Canti- 
cles, under every variety of endearing 
epithet. 

" At the foot of the mountain the 
climate and productions compare with 
those of countries near the tropics : 
as you ascend the first thousand feet 
they compare with Greece, Italy, and 
the south of France. The next thou- 
sand feet bring us to the climate and 
productions of Holland, Belgium, and 
the north of France : another ascent 



28 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

of equal distance and we arrive at the 
temperature of England ; while we 
may still arrive, by another stride, 
within the bleak and dreary regions of 
Nova Zembla." 

As the climate of Lebanon varies 
from very warm to very cold, as you 
ascend or descend, and as its produc- 
tions vary accordingly, here is one of 
the first natural " botanical gardens" 
in the world. 

'' Its head in wintry grandeur towers, 

And whitens with eternal sleet ; 
While summer, in a vale of flowers, 
Is sleeping rosy at its feet." 

It was here that Solomon studied 
the various plants, and trees, and 
shrubs with which it is covered ; here 
he acquired that knowledge of botany 
which enabled him to " speak of trees, 
from the cedar-tree that is in Leba- 
non, unto the hyssop that springe thj 
out of the wall." 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 29 

On the sides of this beautiful moun- 
tain grew those majestic cedars, so 
often spoken of in Scripture. Here, 
in "the forests of Lebanon," Solo- 
mon's workmen cut down timber for 
the magnificent buildings which he 
erected. 

Though Lebanon has been describ- 
ed as it appeared in fruitful seasons, 
and though it must have suffered se- 
verely at the time Elijah lived at Za- 
rephath, yet it probably suffered far 
less than other parts of the country. 
On its lofty summit were laid up the 
>snows and ice of many winters ; and 
during this dreadful drought these 
snows would serve as a vast maga- 
zine, from which, in the warmer 
months, the refreshing streams would 
continue to descend for a long time. 
By taking advantage of these streams, 
and by watering those gardens that 
were situated near the larger rivers, 



30 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

a scanty subsistence might be obtain- 
ed for a part of the people and cattle ; 
corn could also be brought in small 
quantities from distant countries: 
thus, while many doubtless perished, 
a part survived. 

Amid these picturesque and sub- 
lime scenes, with which his residence 
abounded, Elijah walked forth and 
communed with God. 

The Jewish prophets were students 
of nature ; and they w r ere accustom- 
ed, far above other men, to refer from 
nature to nature's God. It was a 
view of the ever-present Jehovah, 
walking in majesty amid his works 
and governing the nations, that gave 
such sublimity to their conceptions. 
These conceptions, guided and govern- 
ed by inspiration, brought forth a poe- 
try altogether unequalled in beauty 
and grandeur. 

But to return to our subject: — 






THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 31 

About two years the standing miracle, 
in the barrel of meal and cruise of oil, 
continued. Elijah, the woman, and 
her son, ate flour from the barrel and 
oil from the cruise, but they were not 
in the least diminished. Though 
they had never a large stock before- 
hand, they had always enough : and 
so, generally, it will be with us, if we 
trust in God. David says, " I have 
been young, and now I am old, yet 
have I never seen the righteous for- 
saken, nor his seed begging bread." 

The fare of the prophet and his 
hostess was certainly very plain ; their 
table was not covered with luxuries 
or delicacies, but it was good enough, 
and they received it with thanksgiv- 
ing. How many in Israel and Zidon 
(Would have leaped for joy to have ob- 
tained even flour and oil, but they 
could not. 

Let those who pamper their appe- 



32 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

tites, and are daily asking, What shall 
I eat and what shall I drink? who 
murmur if they cannot feast sumptu- 
ously every day, — let them think of 
the mercies they do enjoy; and see 
how much more God gives them than 
they deserve. Let them cease their 
repining, and begin to offer to God 
thanksgiving. 

In our goodly land we are very 
highly favoured of the Lord. We 
have been here more than two hun- 
dred years, and have never had one 
general failure of our crops. We 
have a fertile soil; not so fertile, it is 
true, as to bring forth crops without 
culture, because such fertility would 
be a curse rather than a blessing : it 
would encourage idleness, — and an 
idle people were never a virtuous peo- 
ple. But our soil yields a sure re- 
ward to the cultivator. We have also 
a healthy clime : if it were warmer it 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 33 

would enervate ; if it were colder it 
would stupify. Surely "the lines 
have fallen to us in pleasant places, 
and we have a goodly heritage." God 
sends us fruitful showers ; he fills our 
barns and storehouses with plenty ; he 
gives us summer and winter, cold and 
heat, in their season. 

The widow of Zarephath had now 
been favoured, for a long time, with 
the company of the prophet and the 
blessing of God : the lives of herself 
and son had been unexpectedly and 
miraculously preserved ; and she had 
doubtless concluded that no evil was 
likely to befall them; — that if God 
would work a miracle to save them 
from an extraordinary death, he would 
certainly preserve them from ordinary 
calamities, at least until the famine 
was ended. How unexpected, there- 
fore, was the visitation of sickness and 
death ! 

3 



34 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

Have you ever stood by the bed of 
a sick child ? O, it is a mournful pic- 
ture which we there witness. There 
is the little sufferer : but yesterday he 
was in health — his step was light — 
the rose of beauty was blooming on 
his cheek — his blood was flowing joy- 
ously through his veins — his eye was 
bright — his voice was music in his mo- 
ther's ear — he rose as morning broke 
in the east with her silver light, and 
he wandered in the fields to pluck the 
gay flowers. He listened to the songs 
of the birds in the groves, and was all 
life amid his play-fellows ; at evening 
he said his prayer, and sweet were 
his slumbers. His mother watched 
his expanding mind, as it opened, like 
a flower bursting from the bud : she 
delighted to answer his questions, and 
teach him to be good and happy. But 
suddenly he comes from his play — he 
lays his hand upon his head — a tear 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 35 

starts in his eye, — " Mother, I am 
sick." 

O, who can tell what a mother feels 
at that sound ! She lays her hand upon 
his burning forehead — she presses him 
to her bosom — lays him on his soft 
couch, and wipes the damps of sick- 
ness from his brow. She administers 
medicine — she hangs over the bed of 
sickness by day, and stirs not from 
his couch during the long night. With 
what anxiety does she w r atch the pro- 
gress of disease ! As the eye loses its 
lustre — as the rose fades from the 
cheek — as the flesh and strengh waste 
away, how her heart palpitates ! If 
at any time the wasting lamp of life 
seems to revive, what fluttering be- 
tween hope and fear ! 

Ah, there is nothing like a mother's 
love; and when death comes, what 
anguish attends the severing of those 
tender ties that bound her to her child ! 



36 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

But if this be " the only son of his 
mother," and she is " a widow" then 
are H waters of a full cup wrung out" 
to her. Such was the case with the 
widow of Zarephath. 

Her only son, preserved by miracle 
from famine, was arrested by sick- 
ness, — " and his sickness was so sore 
that there was no breath left in him." 

Though the woman had sufficient 
reason to believe Elijah was a pro- 
phet, and a man of God, yet, as he 
had not cured her son, but suffered 
him to die, her faith began to droop ; 
and she said unto Elijah, " What have 
I to do with thee, O thou man of God? 
art thou come unto me to call my sin 
to remembrance, and to slay my son?" 
Distress and anguish weigh down the 
afflicted widow ; she owns, indeed, 
that sin was the cause of her calami- 
ty: yet she perversely reflects upon 
Elijah, as though his prayers, which 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 37 

had brought the famine oil the land, 
had, for her sin, brought death into 
her family. In our troubles we are 
apt to fall out with our best friends, as 
though they had the power, and ought 
to have prevented our calamities. But 
do not blame her too much ; her af- 
fliction was deep. 

Elijah's heart is filled with that hea- 
venly charity which teaches its pos- 
sessor " to rejoice with those that re- 
joice, and to weep with those that 
weep." He shares the sorrow of his 
afflicted friend. " And he said unto her, 
1 Give me thy son.' And he took him 
out of her bosom and carried him up 
into a loft, where he abode, and laid 
him upon his own bed. And he cried 
unto the Lord, and said, < O Lord my 
God, hast thou also brought evil upon 
the widow with whom I sojourn, by 
slaying her son V And he stretched 
himself upon the child three times, 



38 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

and cried unto the Lord, and said, ' O 
Lord my God, I pray thee, let this 
child's soul come into him again.' 
And the Lord heard the voice of Eli- 
jah ; and the soul of the child came 
into him again, and he revived. And 
Elijah took the child, and brought 
him down out of the chamber into the 
house, and delivered him unto his 
mother : and Elijah said, i See, thy 
son liveth.' And the woman said to 
Elijah, ' Now by this I know that thou 
art a man of God, and that the word 
of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.'" 

Some persons may suppose that 
this youth was only in a swoon, or 
state of suspended animation; and 
that Elijah stretched himself upon 
him to rekindle the vital heat, and set 
his lungs in play again by breathing 
into them. But it was not so ; for 
"his soul came into him again" It 
had departed ; he had been quite dead. 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 41 

Besides, if the prophet had only re- 
stored suspended animation, the Scrip- 
tures would not be likely to record so 
trifling a matter. 

By this act of raising her dead child, 
the faith of the woman was confirmed. 
Perhaps God intended to give her this 
proof of his power and goodness, as 
she was living in an idolatrous city, 
and was soon to lose the company and 
instructions of the prophet. Probably 
this was one great means of her con- 
tinuing in the worship of God to the end, 
and of her final salvation. Our great- 
est afflictions are often our greatest 
blessings, though we complain bitter- 
ly over them. The death of this child 
proved to his afflicted mother an ever- 
lasting mercy. 

This was the first time the slum- 
bers of the dead had ever been broken. 
Death had reigned triumphant more 
than three thousand years; but He 



42 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH, 

who at first commissioned death to en- 
ter the world, was willing to show his 
power over it. He was also willing 
to attest the mission of his servant Eli- 
jah with this seal; which doubtless 
strengthened his faith, and helped to 
prepare him for those great undertak- 
ings which were before him. 

After this Elisha raised another 
child to life ; and Jesus Christ and his 
apostles raised others ; but these are 
extraordinary events — they are not to 
be expected except at extraordinary 
times, and for great moral purposes. 
The goodness of God appears in these 
instances. While bereaved friends 
shared the benefit, and rejoiced over 
the restoration of departed relatives, 
the great design was lofty, and worthy 
of God. The dead were raised for 
the benefit of the world. These things 
were done that men, down to the end 
of time, might believe God's prophets ; 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 43 

might accredit his messengers ; em- 
brace the truths of the Bible, and be 
saved. 

We shall die, but no Elijah will 
call us back to life. After once the 
gates of death have closed "upon us, 
their bolts will never be drawn back 
until the general resurrection; our 
spirits will never come back to enjoy 
a longer time for preparation to enter 
the other world. If we die in our sins, 
all will be over with us for ever. 

And now let me ask my dear young 
friends if they are prepared to die. Are 
your sins repented of, and forsaken? 
Are they forgiven ? Do you love God? 
Do you keep his commandments? If 
you do, then happy are you. God 
loves you, and Christ smiles upon you. 
Be faithful unto death, and you shall 
enter through the gates into that 
city where there are no famines — no 
idolatries— no sin — no sorrow: but 



44 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

where are fulness of joy and pleasures 
for evermore. But if you have not 
repented, do it quickly — seek God 
early — delay not, that your souls may 
live. 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 45 



CHAPTER III. 

Israel somewhat prepared for reform — Elijah sent to 
Ahab — Meets Obadiah — Character and office of Obadiah — 
His fears of Ahab — His services to the prophets — Elijah 
meets Ahab — Character of the interview — Description of 
Carmel — Ahab, by Elijah's direction, convenes Israel on 
Mount Carmel— Elijah's challenge — Approved by the peo- 
ple — Prophets of Baal — Their worship described — Ridi- 
culed by Elijah — Baal refuses to hear — Elijah prepares the 
altar and sacrifice — Fire comes down and consumes it — 
Prophets of Baal slain — Justice of their punishment — 
Evils of idolatry — Address to the young. 

The famine had now continued 
about three years and six months : 
the distress had been daily increasing ; 
the people had found no deliverance 
from their idol gods; and were, in 
some measure, prepared for a reform. 

The word of the Lord now came to 
Elijah, saying, "Go, show thyself to 
Ahab ; and I will send rain upon the 
earth." 

Elijah had no good reason for be- 



46 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

lievingthat Ahab had repented of his 
idolatry, or that Jezebel had lost any 
of her hatred toward him; but he 
knew when God commanded him to 
go, he was safe. And Elijah went to 
show himself unto Ahab : and the fa- 
mine was sore in Samaria. 

Ahab had at his court, at this time, 
a man named Obadiah, who was 
governor of his house. Now Obadi- 
ah feared the Lord greatly : for it was 
so that when Jezebel cut off the pro- 
phets of the Lord, that Obadiah took 
a hundred of the prophets and hid 
them by fifty in a cave, and fed them 
with bread and water. 

It is not probable that these were 
chief prophets, such as were inspired 
to predict future events ; but pious 
young men, who had been gathered 
together in one of those " schools of 
the prophets," which were generally 
under some eminent prophet. These 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 47 

holy men ? refusing to worship Baal, 
were likely to fall a prey to the rage 
of Jezebel, and were only saved by 
the timely interference of Obadiah. 

How such a man should be tolerat- 
ed in Ahab's court may at first seem 
quite surprising : but Ahab doubtless 
found the services of Obadiah so pro- 
fitable as to be unwilling to part with 
him. Even Nero, the human mon- 
ster who used to wrap the Christians 
of Rome in garments of pitch and set 
fire to them, to light the city by night, 
had some Christians belonging to his 
household: God often protects his 
servants in the very camp of their 
foes. 

About the time Elijah went to meet 
Ahab, he had commanded Obadiah to 
"go into the land, unto all fountains 
of water, and unto all brooks ;" (the 
larger ones might not be entirely dry ;) 
"peradventure," said he, "we may find 



48 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

grass to save the horses and mules 
alive, that we lose not all the beasts." 
" So they divided the land between 
them, — Ahab went one way, by him- 
self, and Obadiah went another way, 
by himself. And as Obadiah was in 
the way, behold, Elijah met him, and 
he knew him, and fell on his face, and 
said, 6 Art thou that my Lord Elijah V 
And he answered, 6 1 am : go tell thy 
lord, behold, Elijah is here.' And 
Obadiah said, ' What have I sinned, 
that thou wouldest deliver thy servant 
into the hand of Ahab, to slay me V 
As the Lord thy God liveth, there is 
no nation or kingdom whither my 
lord hath not sent to seek thee : and 
when they said, He is not here, he 
took an oath of the kingdom and na- 
tion, that they found thee not. And 
now thou sayest, i Go tell thy lord, 
behold, Elijah is here.' And it shall 
come to pass, as soon as I am gone 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 49 

from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord 
shall carry thee whither I know not ; 
and so, when I come and tell Ahab, 
and he cannot find thee, he shall slay 
me : but I thy servant fear the Lord 
from my youth. Was it told my 
lord what I did, when Jezebel slew 
the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a 
hundred men of the Lord's prophets by 
fifty in a cave, and fed them with 
bread and water? And now thou say- 
est, ' Go, tell thy lord, behold, Elijah 
is here ; and he shall slay me.' And 
Elijah said, 'As the Lord of hosts 
liveth, before whom I stand, I will 
surely show myself unto him to-day.' 
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and 
told him ; and Ahab went to meet 
Elijah. And it came to pass when 
Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto 
him, 'Art thou he that troubleth 
Israel?'" 

Elijah answ r ers, " I have not trou- 

4 



50 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

bled Israel ; but thou, and thy father's 
house, in that ye have forsaken the 
commandments of the Lord, and thou 
hast followed Baalim." 

Both these men appear here quite 
in character — the wicked king and the 
holy prophet. Ahab, with insolent 
pride and abuse, accosts Elijah as the 
troubler of Israel ; Elijah, unawed by 
the power and menaces of the haughty 
monarch, retorts the accusation, and 
bids him see the troubler of Israel in 
the worshipper of Baalim. 

God is now about to employ Eli- 
jah in a great and arduous conflict 
with the idolaters. 

On the one hand we see the pro- 
phet alone, hated and accused as the 
cause of those calamities under which 
the nation was groaning. On the 
other is the wicked king, w T ith the na- 
tion's power at his command. But 
Elijah is fearless ; his arm is nerved 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 51 

for the conflict by the Lord of hosts ; 
he boldly challenges the enemies of 
God to come forward and test their 
religion. " Send/' says he to Ahab, 
" and gather to me all Israel to Mount 
Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four 
hundred and fifty, and the prophets of 
the groves four hundred and fifty, 
which eat at Jezebel's table." 

Carmel, the spot chosen by Elijah 
as the place where the people were to 
meet, was an admirable place for the 
assembling of a large concourse, and 
particularly adapted to the present oc- 
casion. 

"It is from fifteen hundred to two 
thousand feet above the level of the 
sea ; its shape resembles a flattened 
cone, and it is the finest and most 
beautiful mountain in Palestine. Its 
name signifies a fruitful field, or a 
country of vineyards and gardens. Mo- 
dern travellers tell us that wild vines, 



52 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

olive-trees, and fragrant flowers still 
indicate its former productiveness. It 
was clothed in such verdure in the 
days of Isaiah, that the lofty genius 
of that prophet, guided by inspiration, 
could not find a more appropriate 
figure to represent the flourishing 
state of the Redeemer's kingdom than 
6 the excellency of Carmel and Sha- 
ron. 5 But what a picture must it 
have presented at the time the multi- 
tude assembled at the summons of 
Elijah !" 

The vines, which used to be loaded 
with rich clusters of delicious fruit, 
were dead; the olive-trees no longer 
formed pleasant arbours by their 
green and spreading foliage — they ex- 
tended their dry and leafless branches, 
the picture of desolation. The once 
fertile and lovely vale of Sharon, 
which lay at its base, presented the 
aspect of a barren heath, — " the rose 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 53 

of Sharon and the lily of the valley" 
were withered. 

Such a scene of desolation in this, 
the very garden of the land, was well 
calculated to impress the lesson which 
was to follow. 

The curiosity of Ahab was excited 
to know what Elijah would do. Per- 
haps he also thought, by assembling 
the worshippers and prophets of Baal, 
a fine opportunity would be afforded 
of publicly destroying Elijah, the 
great enemy of idol worship. 

So he sent unto all the children of 
Israel, and gathered the prophets to- 
gether unto Mount Carmel. The peo- 
ple were quite willing to come. 

Ahab had made-diligent search, not 
only through his own dominions, but 
also in the adjoining kingdoms, for 
Elijah. His declaration, that there 
" should not be rain nor dew but ac- 
cording to his word," had become 



54 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

generally known: all eyes were there- 
fore turned toward him ; and when it 
was announced that Elijah would 
meet them at such a time upon Mount 
Carmel, every one became eager to 
see him. His enemies, full of rage, 
wished to see him destroyed as the 
troubler of Israel. Others wished him 
either persuaded or forced to pray for 
rain. And the few, who still adhered 
to the true God, began to hope Jeho- 
vah was about, in some signal man- 
ner, to vindicate his own honour and 
put an end to idolatry. 

Thus, on that memorable day, 
tens of thousands were seen, slowly, 
through feebleness and famine, wend- 
ing their way through the once bloom- 
ing, but now desolate vale of Sharon, 
and up the sides of Carmel. How 
many mournful evidences of their sin 
and folly must have met their eyes as 
they journeyed toward the top of the 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 55 

mountain. The displeasure of the 
God they had forsaken was visibly- 
impressed on every field and vine- 
yard — on every plant and tree. Why 
will wicked men be infatuated, and 
bring down judgments on their own 
heads ? 

The assembly, consisting of Ahab, 
his principal officers, the prophets of 
Baal, and thousands of people, were 
at length convened. 

Having long suffered for their sins, 
many of thern appear to have been 
brought to some degree of sensibility. 
They saw the folly of worshipping 
gods that could give them no relief 
from their calamities ; but their sinful 
hearts were alienated from the true 
God. They also feared the king and 
the prophets of Baal. Thus they were 
undecided, whether to forsake their 
idols, and declare for the true God, or 
continue as they were, 



56 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

Elijah saw the conflict in their 
minds ; and, rising among them, he 
thus addressed them : " How long halt 
ye between two opinions \ If the 
Lord be God, follow him ; but if Baal, 
then follow him." But no one answer- 
ed him a word. 

The prophets of Baal had nothing 
to say. The intrepid Elijah, with his 
commanding person and voice, stands 
before them — the evidences of Jeho- 
vah's anger are all around them — the 
people have seen the impotency of 
their idol gods, — they have not been 
able to bring down a single shower 
of rain nor particle of dew for these 
three years and six months — they can- 
not withstand the reproachful glance 
of Elijah's eye — their countenances 
are fallen, and their tongues speech- 
less. A miserable set of hypocritical 
pretenders — they have been prophe- 
sying for hire — they have helped to 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 57 

bring calamity upon their nation, and 
now thej are like a wild beast caught 
in a snare. 

The people had nothing to answer ; 
for their own consciences smote them. 
They knew Jehovah was the true 
God — they knew his displeasure was 
hanging over them— they had forsa- 
ken him to follow Baal, and Baal had 
left them to suffer and perish. 

Determined to bring the matter to 
an issue, Elijah said unto the people, 
" I, even I only, remain a prophet of 
the Lord ; but Baal's prophets are 
four hundred and fifty men. They 
surely need not fear to meet the pro- 
position I am about to make." 

The purport of his address seems to 
be this: — "Here is only one against 
four hundred and fifty ; they have the 
king and all the power of the govern- 
ment on their side, while I have been 
hunted from city to city, and nation 



58 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

to nation, as though I were an enemy 
of my race." 

He then proposes that they should 
test the respective claims of the two 
religions before the whole assembly, 
in the following manner : — " Let them 
therefore give us two bullocks ; and 
let them choose one bullock for them- 
selves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it 
on wood, and put no fire under : and 
I will dress the other bullock, and lay 
it on wood, and put no fire under. 
And call ye on the name of your 
gods, and I will call on the name of 
Jehovah: and the God that answereth 
by fire, let him be God." 

And all the people answered and 
said, " It is well spoken." 

And Elijah said unto the prophets 
of Baal, " Choose ye one bullock for 
yourselves, and dress it first; for ye 
are many: and call on the name of 
your gods, but put no fire under." 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 59 

And they took the bullock which 
was given them, and they dressed it, 
and called on the name of Baal from 
morning until noon, saying, "O Baal, 
hear us !" But there was no voice, 
nor any that answered. These priests 
then danced and leaped around the 
altar with many wild and frantic ges- 
tures. This was the general custom 
with ancient idolaters. They danced 
in a wild and furious manner before 
the altars of their idols ; pretending, 
at the same time, to be under some 
supernatural influence, and to prophe- 
sy. Dancing, in idol worship, is even 
the custom among the idolaters of 
India at the present day. Dr. Bucha- 
nan, in his " Christian Researches in 
Asia/' frequently mentions their inde- 
cent dancing. 

After the prophets of Baal had con- 
tinued until noon, and had wearied 
themselves, and disgusted and weari- 



60 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

ed the people, Elijah began to ridicule 
them, saying, " Cry aloud, for he is a 
god ; either he is talking, or he is pur- 
suing, or he is in a journey ; or, per- 
adventure he sleepeth, and must be 
awaked." 

Nothing can be conceived more 
pointed than Elijah's ridicule. These 
men had been dancing under the 
scorching sun until they were nearly 
exhausted ; they had cried to Baal 
until their voices were hoarse and dis- 
cordant ; and now Elijah calls on 
them to cry louder, " for he is a god." 
That is, "You pretend to believe he 
is ; but perhaps he is conversing with 
some one, and will attend by-and-by; 
or he has been engaged in battle, and 
is pursuing his retreating foes ; or it 
may be he has been out on a hunting 
excursion, and is chasing a fox or a 
hare ; or he is not at home just now, 
but is journeving for health or plea- 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH 61 

sure; or perchance he is dozing, and 
needs to be awakened by louder cries. 
Lift up your voices ; your case is cer- 
tainly a very urgent one : it would be 
a great pity if you should be put to 
shame before all this assembly." 

These priests, finding themselves 
thus taunted before the multitude, 
cried still louder. But Baal was as 
obstinate a god as ever ; he still re- 
fused to hear. Then they cut them- 
selves, after their manner, with knives 
and lancets, till the blood gushed out 
upon them. 

Perhaps my young readers are cu- 
rious to know whether these men did 
themselves really believe that Baal, 
which was nothing but the sun, repre- 
sented by a carved image, could hear 
them. It is not very probable that 
they did. They lived in a land where 
the worship of the true God had been 
practised for many years ; where 



62 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

there was much religious knowledge. 
They were not, therefore, like those 
ignorant heathen who never knew 
God ; but they were caught in a snare. 
The people were assembled, had 
heard Elijah's challenge, and had pro- 
nounced his proposal fair and right. 
Thus, if Baal's prophets refused to 
come to a trial, they feared the people ; 
and they thought, perhaps, by their 
great efforts in crying and dancing, and 
even cutting themselves, they could 
persuade the multitude that they were 
at least sincere, and had thought Baal 
to be a god. 

That the people might see more 
clearly the folly of idolatry, and be 
the more disgusted w r ith it, Elijah 
seems to have wished to keep the 
priests of Baal playing their ludicrous 
farce as long as possible. So, he 
goads them on with his keen satire, 
and keeps exhibiting them before the 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 63 

assembly all day. If they could have 
escaped, both fear of what would be 
the issue of the contest, and of the in- 
dignation of the people, as well as 
shame, would have induced them to 
flee for their lives. But being unable 
to escape from their difficulties, or re- 
treat from what they felt to be a very 
awkward situation, they continued 
their fruitless efforts until the time of 
offering the evening sacrifice ; but 
there was neither voice, nor any to an- 
swer, nor any that regarded. 

Then Elijah said unto all the peo- 
ple, " Come near unto me ;" and all 
the people came near to Elijah. And 
he repaired the altar of the Lord that 
was broken down. This was proba- 
bly built in the time of the judges, 
before the temple at Jerusalem was 
erected. 

They had not, in those days, con- 
venient churches as we have, but 



64 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

often erected altars on the tops of 
mountains, or high hills, where sacri- 
fices were offered by the prophets 
and ministers of religion. But now, 
for many years, the people had for- 
saken the worship of Jehovah, and 
his altars lay in mournful desolation. 
And Elijah took twelve stones, ac- 
cording to the number of the tribes 
of the sons of Jacob, and with these 
stones he rebuilt the altar which | 
had been broken down ; and he made 
a trench about the altar ; then he put 
the wood in order, and cut the bul- j 
lock in pieces, and laid it on the wood, 
and said, " Fill four barrels with wa- 
ter, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice 
and on the wood." And he said, " Do 
it the second time," and they did it 
the second time. And he said, " Do 
it the third time," and they did it the 
third time. 

What the vessels here called bar- 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 65 

rels held, we do not know precisely. 
It is not likely they were just like our 
barrels, but were vessels in which 
w T ater had been brought down from 
some fountain not yet entirely dry, to 
serve the king and his officers during 
their stay upon the mountain. 

The object of pouring the w r ater 
upon the wood and altar was to show 
that no fire had been in any way con- 
cealed under the altar. There could 
be no chance, indeed, for any such 
trick, for Elijah w r as alone on the part 
of God. The priests of Baal were 
looking on, ready and able to discover 
if any thing was conducted unfairly ; 
and the whole was conducted in pre- 
sence of Ahab and the multitude. 

After water enough to thoroughly 
drench the wood, the flesh of the bul- 
lock, the altar, and to fill the trench, 
had been poured on, Elijah the pro- 
phet came near, and said, " Lord God 



66 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it 
be known, this day, that thou art God 
in Israel, and that I am thy servant ; 
and that I have done all these things 
at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear 
me, that the people may know that 
thou art the Lord God, and that thou 
hast turned their heart back again." 

This was certainly a beautiful and 
becoming prayer. Here was no wild 
and frantic dancing, nor leaping up 
and down before the altar — no vain 
repetitions — no cutting and gashing 
of the flesh, as though the God he 
was worshipping was a blood-thirsty 
being, and wished his sacrifices stain- 
ed with human gore : here was no 
crying from morning till noon, and 
from noon till evening ; Elijah's God 
was neither conversing nor pursuing, 
in a journey nor asleep. Thus, Eli- 
jah, knowing the character of the 
God he served, approached him sol- 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 57 

emnly and reverently, with a short, 
but very emphatic petition. 

The multitude were now all anxietv 

%/ 

and attention. The few who loved 
Jehovah, and had not bowed the knee 
.to Baal, were solemnly lifting up their 
hearts to Jehovah, that he would hear 
and vindicate his honour, his worship, 
his servant Elijah, and save Israel 
from idolatry. The priests of Baal 
stood looking on ; and in their counte- 
nances were visible the mingled emo- 
tions of hope, fear, and rage. They 
hoped Elijah's prayers would be as 
fruitless as their own ; that his God 
would give no more evidence of his 
being and power than Baal had done. 
If this should be the result, they would 
then, at least, be on an equality with 
Elijah. 

But while they thus hoped, they 
had already seen sufficient evidence 
of the power of Elijah's God in the 



68 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

drought and famine which he had 
sent, to lead them to fear. And there 
can be no doubt, but that when 
they saw the difficulty into which 
Elijah had already brought them, 
and remembered his cutting sarcasms,, 
they were greatly enraged. Thus, 
agitated and tormented by their con- 
flicting passions, fatigued with their 
long and clamorous devotions, and 
lacerated and gory from the wounds 
they had inflicted on themselves, 
they must have excited, by their very 
appearance, the smile of contempt 
from the surrounding multitude. The 
worst for them, however, was yet to 
come ; for, as Elijah concluded his 
prayer, the fire of the Lord fell, and 
consumed the burnt sacrifice and the 
wood, and, to make the miracle more 
complete, the stones and the dust, and 
licked up the water that was in the 
trench. And when the people saw it, 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 71 

they fell on their faces, and said, " The 
Lord, he is the God ! the Lord, he is 
the God !" 

Then Elijah said, " Take the pro- 
phets of Baal, let not any of them 
escape." And they took them ; and 
Elijah brought them down to the brook 
Kishon, and slew them there. 

There were three reasons why 
these men should be put to death : — 
First, they were some of the chief 
agents in seducing Israel into idolatry, 
and keeping it up in the land. It is 
true, Ahab and Jezebel were the prime 
movers in establishing the worship 
of Baal in the kingdom : but these 
men, for the gain they saw they could 
obtain, sold themselves as ready in- 
struments to oppose and overthrow 
the worship of the true God, and se- 
duce Israel into the worship of Baal. 

Secondly, they knew better. They 
were not in a land which had not 



72 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

known tne true God; but in one 
where he had been worshipped for 
many generations. Besides, they had 
the whole three years and six months 
in which the famine continued, ac- 
cording to the word of Elijah, in 
which to repent. Moreover, they saw 
the miracle, when fire fell from hea- 
ven in answer to Elijah's prayer; and 
if even then they had repented, pro- 
bably they might have been saved. 
But, though the people fell on their 
faces, saying, " The Lord, he is the 
God !" we do not learn that one of 
the priests of Baal joined in the ac- 
knowledgment. 

Thirdly, the law of God had long 
before expressly forbidden idolatry, 
under penalty of death. Deut. xviii, 
2,5,7: "If there be any found among 
you, within any of thy gates which 
the Lord thy God giveth thee, manor 
woman, that hath wrought wicked- 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 73 

ness in the sight of the Lord thy God, 
in transgressing his covenant, and 
hath gone and served other gods, and 
worshipped them, either the sun, or 
moon, or any of the hosts of heaven, 
which I have not commanded ; and it 
be told thee, and thou hast heard of 
it, and inquired diligently, and, be- 
hold, it be true, and the thing certain 
that such abomination is wrought in 
Israel : then shalt thou bring forth that 
man or that woman, which has com- 
mitted that wicked thing, unto thy 
gates, even that man or that woman, 
and shalt stone them with stones, till 
they die. So thou shalt put the evil 
away from among you." 

Now the priests of Baal had broken 
this law; and God directed Elijah to 
have them put to death. 

But perhaps some of my young 
readers will wish to know why idola- 
try is so great a sin, and deserves so 



74 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

severe a punishment. On this point 
I will endeavour to satisfy their minds 
by showing them the evils of idola- 
try. 

First, idolatry originates in wilful 
ignorance and a corrupt heart. " They 
did not like," says St. Paul, " to re- 
tain God in their knowledge." All 
nations once knew God. Being the 
children of two great ancestors, Adam 
and Noah, they had' religious know- 
ledge : they had also the works of 
God all around them, from which to 
learn his being and perfections ; but 
" when they knew God, they glori- 
fied him not as God, neither were 
thankful." They were disposed to be 
wicked; and as the true God was 
holy, and required holiness — as he 
was always present to inspect their 
conduct, and had declared he would 
bring them to judgment for it, they 
did not like such a God. They want- 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 75 

ed a God as corrupt and wicked as 
themselves : or, at least, one that did 
not care how wdcked they were. So 
they worshipped sometimes the sun 
and stars of heaven ; but finally they 
made images, in the shape of men or 
women, or beasts, or fish ; and some- 
times of monsters, unlike any thing in 
earth or heaven. These images, made 
of wood, stone, gold, or silver, they 
pretended w r ere inhabited by some 
sort of spirit — frequently cruel, re- 
vengeful, licentious, and blood-thirsty. 
They pretended these gods were 
themselves guilty of all sorts of im- 
pure and filthy practices — of hatred 
and murder ; and required such prac- 
tices of their worshippers : those that 
w r ere more wise, deceived and made 
gain of the more simple. And thus 
they went on, corrupting themselves 
and one another. They committed all 
sorts of abominations ; and even went 



76 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

so far as to seize and murder each 
other, under the pretence of offering 
sacrifice to their gods. 

Moloch, which some suppose the 
same as Baal, or Baal under another 
name, was said to be " made of brass, 
and placed on a brazen throne ; the 
head was that of a calf, with a crown 
upon it ; the throne and image were 
made hollow, and a furious fire was 
kindled within; the flames penetrated 
into the body and limbs of the idol ; 
and when the arms were red hot, the 
victim was thrown into them, and was 
almost immediately roasted to death ; 
its cries were drowned by drums, &c." 
The Bible says of the Canaanites, — 
" Their sons and their daughters they 
made to pass through the fire unto 
Moloch." 

Lest it should appear altogether in- 
credible to the young reader that men 
should have been guilty of such dread- 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH* 77 

ful cruelties, I will give him a picture 
of idolatry in modern times. 

Dr. Buchanan visited India in 1806. 
The following extracts from his jour- 
nal give us a faithful picture of modern 
idolatry. 

"We know," says he, "that we are 
approaching Juggernaut," (the town 
of the great Hindoo idol of the same 
name,) "by the multitude of bones 
which we have seen for some days 
strewed by the way. At this place 
we have been joined by several large 
bodies of pilgrims — perhaps two thou- 
sand in number — who have come from 
various parts of northern India ; some 
of them, with whom I have conversed, 
say that they have been two months 
on their march, travelling slowly, in 
the hottest season of the year, with 
their wives and children. Numbers 
of pilgrims die on the road, and their 
bodies generally remain unburied. 



78 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

On a plain by the river, near the pil- 
grim's caravansera, (inn,) at this place, 
are more than a hundred skulls. The 
dogs, jackals, and vultures seem to 
live on human prey. The vultures 
exhibit a shocking lameness ; the ob- 
scene animals will not leave the body 
sometimes till we come close to them. 
This Buddruck is a horrid place : 
wherever I turn my eyes I meet with 
death in some shape or other ; surely 
Juggernaut cannot be worse than 
Buddruck." 

"In sight of Juggernaut, 12th of June. 

" Many thousands of pilgrims ac- 
companied us for some days past. 
They cover the road, both before and 
behind, as far as the eye can reach. 
At nine o'clock this morning the tem- 
ple of Juggernaut appeared in view, 
at a great distance. When the mul- 
titude first saw it they gave a shout, 
and fell to the ground, and worship- 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 79 

ped. From the place where I now 
stand I have a view of a host of peo- 
ple, like an army, encamped at the 
outer gate of the town of Juggernaut. 
I passed a devotee to-day, who laid 
himself down at every step ; measur- 
ing the road to Juggernaut by the 
length of his body, as a penance of 
merit, to please the god." 

" Juggernaut, 14th June. 

"I have seen Juggernaut. The 
scene at Buddruck is but a vestibule 
to Juggernaut. No record of ancient 
or modern history can give, I think, 
an adequate idea of this valley of 
death. The idol called Juggernaut 
has been considered as the Moloch of 
the present age, and he is justly so 
named ; for the sacrifices offered up 
to him by self-devotement are not 
less criminal, perhaps not less nume- 
rous, than those recorded of the Mo- 
loch of Canaan. Two other idols ac- 



80 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

company Juggernaut, namely, Bolo- 
ram and Shubuaun, his brother and 
sister, for there are three deities wor- 
shipped here. They receive equal 
adoration; and sit on thrones of near- 
ly equal height. 

" This morning I viewed the tem- 
ple — a stupendous fabric, and truly 
commensurate with the sway of the 
6 horrid king.' As other temples are 
usually adorned with figures emble- 
matical of their religion, so Jugger- 
naut ; — the walls and gates are cover- 
ed with indecent emblems in massive 
and durable sculpture. I have also 
visited the sand plains by the sea — in 
some places whitened by the bones of 
the pilgrims : and another place, a 
little way out of the town, called by 
the English the Golgotha, where the 
dead bodies are usually cast forth; 
and where dogs and vultures are ever 
seen. The vultures and dogs often 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 81 

feed together; and sometimes begin 
their attacks before the pilgrim be 
quite dead." 

"Juggernaut, 18th June. 

" I have returned home from wit- 
nessing a scene which I shall never 
forget. At twelve o'clock this day, 
being the great day of the feast, the 
Moloch of Hindostan was brought out 
of his temple, amid the acclamations of 
hundreds of thousands of his worship- 
pers. When the idol was placed on his 
throne a shout was raised by the mul- 
titude such as I never heard before. 
The throne of the idol was placed on 
a stupendous car, or tower, about sixty 
feet in height, resting on wheels; 
which indented the ground deeply as 
they turned slowly under the ponder- 
ous machine. Attached to it were six 
cables, of the size and length of a 
ship's cable, by which the people 

drew it along. Upon the tower were 
6 



82 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

the priests and satellites of the idol, 
surrounding his throne. The idol is 
a block of wood, having a frightful 
visage painted black, with a wide 
mouth of a bloody colour ; his arms 
are of gold, and he is dressed in gor- 
geous apparel. I went on in the pro- 
cession close by the tower of Moloch, 
which, as it was drawn with difficulty, 
grated on its many wheels harsh thun- 
der. After a few minutes it stopped ; 
and now the worship of the god be- 
gan. A high priest mounted the car 
in front of the idol, and pronounced 
his obscene stanzas in the ears of the 
people, who responded at intervals in 
the same strain. " These songs," said 
he, " are the delight of the god ; his 
car can only move when he is pleas- 
ed with the song." After the tower 
had again moved, and proceeded some 
way, a pilgrim announced that he was 
ready to offer himself a sacrifice to 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 83 

the idol. He laid himself down in the 
road before the tower, as it was mov- 
ing along, lying on his face, with his 
arms stretched forwards : the multi- 
tude passed around him, leaving the 
space clear, and he v/as crushed to 
death by the wheels of the tower: a 
shout of joy was raised to the god. 
He is said to smile when the libation 
of the blood is made." 

" Juggernaut, June 20th. 

u Moloch, horrid king, besmear'd with blood 
Of human sacrifice, and parents' tears." 

"The horrid solemnities still con- 
tinue. Yesterday a woman devoted 
herself to the idol. She laid herself 
down in an oblique direction, so that 
the wheel did not kill her instantane- 
ously, but she died in a few hours. 
This morning, as I passed the place 
of skulls, nothing remained of her but 
her bones. 

" And this, thought I, is the worship 



84 THE LIFE OF. ELIJAH. 

of the Brahmins of Hindostan : and 
their worship in its sublimest de 
gree. What then shall we think of 
their private manners and of their 
morals" 

" The shark," says Rev. Mr. Ellis, 
" was formerly worshipped in the 
South Sea islands. On the occasion 
of worship the priests sallied forth, 
and wherever a company of per- 
sons were assembled, a rope, with a 
noose, was suddenly and unexpectedly 
thrown among them; and the first 
person taken in the snare, man, wo- 
man, or child, was strangled, cut in 
pieces, and thrown into the sea, to be 
devoured by the shark." 

These facts show the practical ten- 
dency of idolatry. A system which 
breaks the ties which bind man to his 
Creator ; which implies the basest in- 
gratitude toward him who made us; 
and one calculated to debase man be- 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 85 

low the beast : a system which makes 
him sensual and blood-thirsty — leads 
him to torment himself and butcher 
others. 

It was because the Canaanites had 
cast off the worship of God, and be- 
come the worst of idolaters, that God 
took away their country and gave it 
to the Israelites ; and it was because 
the priests of Baal were endeavouring 
to seduce Israel into idolatry that Eli- 
jah was commanded to perform the 
painful task of directing their execu- 
tion. 

Let me now appeal to my young 
friends, in closing this chapter, in be- 
half of those sinful and miserable peo- 
ple who are still idolaters. Can we 
think of the poor Hindoo, casting him- 
self under the car of Juggernaut— ly- 
ing down on a bed of spikes — swing- 
ing high in air by a hook in his back, 
or the Hindoo mother giving her child 



86 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

to the crocodile to be devoured alive f 
without pity ? Can we think of the 
poor African, who worships the stuffed 
skin of a monkey, and sometimes 
worships even demons, and not feel 
for him ? 

And do you ask, what we must do : 
I answer, Pray for them — send the 
Bible and missionary to teach them 
better. If any of you should grow 
up, and wish to do good in the world, 
and should feel that it was the will of 
God, go among them, and teach them 
the way to heaven. 

Our Saviour says he will make in- 
quiry, in the great day of judgment, 
whether we have fed the hungry, 
clothed the naked, and ministered to 
those in distress. Now, thousands of 
the heathen are literally the most des- 
titute of beings. They are destitute 
of comfortable houses ; they are near- 
ly naked, and often hungry, without 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 87 

bread to eat ; they are without schools, 
churches, and Sabbaths ; they have 
no Bible, no book of any kind ; they 
know not God, and are unacquainted 
with the Saviour ; they are ignorant, 
superstitious, and unhappy ; they are 
given to lying, thieving, and murder. 
If any thing can save them it is the 
gospel; send the gospel. The mis- 
sionary has carried it to the savage of 
America ; on its reception he throws 
aside his tomahawk and scalping- 
knife ; he becomes pious ; and then 
civilization follows in the train of 
Christianity. Having exchanged the 
warwhoop for the songs of Zion, he 
lays aside his wandering, idle habits ; 
he fences and ploughs his fields ; his 
wigwam is exchanged for a comfort- 
able house ; his rifle for the scythe ; 
and hence all the blessings of civil- 
ized life are given him by giving him 
the gospel. The gospel not only 



88 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

saves his soul, but shelters, feeds, and 
clothes his body. 

I hope my young readers will never 
hear nor think of the sad condition 
of the heathen without breathing a 
prayer to heaven for them ; and will, 
never allow an opportunity to pass 
without contributing to send them the 
gospel. 



THE LIFE 07 ELIJAH. 89 



CHAPTER IV. 

Elijah prays for rain, which is given in abundance — He 
goes to Jezreel — Jezebel, enraged at the destruction of 
the prophets of Baal, seeks Elijah's life — Elijah flees into 
the wilderness and requests to die — Is fed by an angel — 
Goes to Horeb, and there receives a manifestation of 
God's presence and power — He is sent to anoint Elisha 
as his companion and successor — Ahab and Jezebel, being 
occupied in other matters, do not molest Elijah for two 
years — Ahab covets the vineyard of Naboth — Naboth is 
murdered by order of Jezebel, and Ahab goes to take pos- 
session — Elijah is sent by God to pronounce sentence up- 
on him and his house — Ahab is alarmed, and assumes the 
garb of a penitent — His sentence is in part suspended. 

The prophets of Baal were now 
destroyed, and Israel had given some 
evidence of a determination to return 
to the worship of the true God. Ahab 
was so far intimidated by the voice of 
the people as not to attempt saving 
the prophets of Baal. It may be he 
felt some penitence for his idolatry, 
and might have forsaken it, but for 
Jezebel. But he was a very weak 



90 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

king, and was entirely under the in- 
fluence of that wicked woman. — 
God, however, saw best to spare him 
a while longer; and Elijah, like a true 
patriot and Christian, felt it his duty 
to treat him as it became a subject 
to treat a ruler while he remained 
such. 

Ahab had been very much excited 
by the wonderful events which had 
taken place, and had need of refresh- 
ment ; he had also a journey to make 
which required haste. So Elijah 
said unto Ahab, " Get thee up, eat 
and drink, for there is a sound of 
abundance of rain." . Then Ahab went 
up, (to his tent, probably,) to eat and 
to drink. 

But Elijah's work is not done. 
Though fatigued with his long-con- 
tinued exertions and anxiety, he goes 
up again to the top of Carmel, and 
casts himself down upon the earth to 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 91 

pray for rain. And he said to his 
servant, " Go up, now, look toward 
the sea;" (the Mediterranean;) and 
he went up and looked, and said, 
" There is nothing." But Elijah said, 
" Go again seven times." And it came 
to pass at the seventh time that he 
said, " There ariseth a little cloud out 
of the sea, like a man's hand." Elijah 
knew now that his prayer would be 
immediately answered. He therefore 
sent his servant to Ahab, saying, 
" Prepare thy chariot, and get thee 
down, that the rain stop thee not." 

The cloud now rose from the sea ; 
the sun, which had been shining w r ith 
a most dazzling brightness for three 
years and six months, was obscured ; 
the dark clouds, in huge volumes, 
were borne on by the winds. The 
earth, having been so long without 
rain, was very dry, and clouds of dust 
rose, increasing the darkness; the 



92 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

lightnings blazed, and were followed 
by repeated peals of thunder ; and the 
rain poured down in torrents. 

A thunder storm is full of majesty; 
it speaks of God. Jehovah had just 
manifested himself by fire, on Mount 
Carmel ; and now Israel beholds him 
riding forth on the wings of the tem- 
pest. Here are majesty and mercy 
combined. Every drop of the descend- 
ing shower was a token of mercy. 
Well might Israel again fall down, 
crying, " The Lord, he is the God ; 
the Lord, he is the God." 

And Ahab arose, and went to Jez- 
reel, where he had a palace. And 
Elijah girded up his loose and flowing 
robe, and ran before Ahab to the en- 
trance of Jezreel. Though fatigued 
and hungry, the Lord gave him 
strength for this journey, which was 
about thirty miles. 

The eastern princes used frequent- 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 93 

ly to be preceded by running footmen 
and chanters. Hanway tells us, that 
when the famous Kouli Khan remov- 
ed his camp, he was preceded by his 
running footmen and chanters, who 
were nine hundred in number, and fre- 
quently chanted moral sentences, &c. 
Bishop Patrick supposes Elijah ran 
before Ahab as one of his footmen, 
showing readiness to honour him as 
the ruler of Israel, and giving him 
evidence that he was not his enemy. 
Some have supposed, as it is said the 
hand of the Lord was upon him, that 
he was inspired while on the way to 
compose and sing hymns of thanks- 
giving for the descending rain. At all 
events, he actedunder God's direction, 
and did nothing unworthy of his pro- 
phetic character. 

Ahab, on returning to his house, 
told Jezebel all that had been done ; 
and how Elijah had slain the pro- 



94 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

phets of Baal. Enraged at the tid- 
ings, she sent a messenger unto Eli- 
jah, to tell him she had sworn by her 
gods that she would make his life as 
the life of one of the prophets of Baal, 
between that time and the same hour 
of the day on the morrow. In her 
blind rage she forgot to conceal her 
intention until she could get Elijah in 
her power ; or perhaps she thought 
he would scorn to fly — and so he 
would, if God had commanded him to 
remain where he was— but having no 
direction to tarry, he arose and went 
to Beersheba, a town belonging to the 
kingdom of Judah. Here he left his 
servant; either because he tk'dnotwish 
to expose him to the hardships which 
he saw before himself, or perhaps 
he was already too much exhausted to 
go farther. But Elijah went a day's 
journey into the wilderness, and sat 
down under a tree. Being thus 



THE LIFE OP ELIJAH. 95 

alone, he began to reflect on what 
he had done and suffered, and yet the 
work of reformation seemed to have 
made but little progress. Jezebel still 
lived, though the prophets of Baal 
were dead ; she sought his life, and 
had the power of the whole kingdom 
at her command. Excessive fatigue 
of body served also to depress his spi- 
rits. Under these trials he seems, for 
a little time, to have lost that manly 
resolution for which he was so remark- 
able ; and, tired of a wicked world, he 
said, "It is enough; now, O Lord, take 
away my life ; for I am not better than 
my fathers." This conduct of the pro- 
phet seems to have been in the mind 
of St. James, when he speaks of Eli- 
jah as " a man of like passions as we 



are." 



There was, however, a Providence 
overruling all this. Elijah learned 
that unless God gave him courage, 



96 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

and supported him, he was weak, and 
like other men. He was also kept 
from pride, or valuing himself upon 
the great miracles he had wrought. 
He now betook himself to rest, and 

" Nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep," 

came to his relief. He slept until an 
angel came and touched him, and 
said unto him, " Arise and eat." And 
he looked up, and behold, there was 
a cake baken on the coals, and a 
cruse of water at his head. And he 
did eat and drink; and being still in 
need of more rest, he laid him down 
again. And the angel of the Lord 
came again the second time, and 
touched him, and said, "Arise and 
eat ; because the journey is too great 
for thee." And he arose, and did eat 
and drink. 

Here we see the care which God 
still has over his servant, When he 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 97 

was by the brook Cherith the ravens 
brought him food, now God sends 
an angel to comfort and feed him. 

Angels are holy spirits, which God 
often sends on errands of love to his 
children. Angels came to bring Lot 
out of Sodom before it was destroyed 
by fire. An angel w T ent forth amid 
the hosts of the Assyrians, when they 
came up against Judah to destroy it, 
and slew a hundred and eighty-five 
thousand of them in one night. And 
when the prophet Daniel was cast in- 
to a den of lions, God sent his angel 
to comfort and protect him. All the 
angels are " ministering spirits, sent 
forth to minister to the heirs of salva- 
tion." They are often near us when 
we know it not ; and protect us from 
dangers of which we are ignorant. 

Elijah now arose, and journeyed to- 
ward Mount Horeb. This mountain, 
a peak of the same range, and near 



98 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH, 

to Sinai, is the one where Moses saw 
the burning bush. Here Elijah could 
have time to rest, and refresh himself, 
and here, amid those very mountains 
where God had communed with Mo- 
ses, and given his law to Israel, he 
could meditate and pray. But he had 
about one hundred and fifty miles to 
travel before he conld reach Horeb. 
In going this distance he spent forty 
days; his route lay mostly through 
a desert part of it — the wilderness 
through which Moses led the Israel- 
ites on their journey from Egypt to 
Canaan, which is called "that great 
and terrible wilderness." Here the 
traveller can make but a slow and 
toilsome progress. An ocean of burn- 
ing sand is spread out before him ; at 
every step the yielding sand gives 
way, and his foot sinks deep. When 
the winds sweep over these deserts 
they bear clouds of sand upon their 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 99 

wings, which almost suffocate the 
weary, panting traveller. 

But there are spots of verdure, like 
islands in the midst of a desolate 
ocean ; here springs of clear water 
gush out of the earth ; the lofty palm 
trke rises in beauty, crowned at its 
summit with dark green leaves, 
in fine contrast with which are seen 
clusters of rich fruit. Various sorts 
of flowering shrubs and sweet-scented 
plants display their beauties, and per- 
fume the air with their odours. Around 
these springs Israel encamped while 
journeying to Canaan; and here we 
may suppose Elijah sat down to re- 
fresh his weary limbs while on his 
way to Horeb. He probably thought 
of the miracle of the manna. He re- 
membered the waters which flowed 
from the rock at Horeb, whither he 
was going. He reflected upon God's 
mercy to Israel in giving them lead- 



100 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

ers and instructers like Moses and 
Joshua, — in giving them his land, and 
leading them into Canaan. And while 
he adored Jehovah he wept over the 
perverseness of Israel. He arises 
again, and walks forward. In the dis- 
tance, we may suppose, he occasional- 
ly spies a band of those lawless free- 
booters, or robbers, who roam over 
the desert, "their hand against every 
man and every man's hand against 
them." They are the sons of Ishma- 
el, the archer. Elijah turns aside ; or 
perhaps, having nothing to tempt their 
avarice, he finds it unnecessary to do 
so. He may also, perhaps, meet some 
of those caravans of men with loaded 
camels, which appear like fleets sail- 
ing over the desert. He has no bread 
to eat, — but he feels none of the pangs 
of hunger. God can easily make the 
same meal, which usually lasts us six 
hours, support his prophet in health 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 101 

and vigour forty days and forty 
nights. 

While still many miles distant, a 
range of lofty mountains appears in 
view. From the summit of the range 
two peaks raise their frowning heads, 
overlooking the country in every di- 
rection. This is the first time Elijah 
has ever beheld them ; and an impres- 
sion ^f awe fills his mind while he 
gazes on Sinai and Horeb. He thinks 
of the cloud which hung around the 
brow of Sinai while Moses talked with 
God. He almost fancies it is now 
there that he sees the lightnings, 
hears the thunders, and beholds the 
mountain quake under the footsteps 
of Jehovah. He casts his eye on Ho- 
reb, and remembers the w-aters gush- 
ing;, from under the stroke of Moses' 
rod, from the flinty rock. He calls ^o 
mind God's appearance in the burning 
bush, when Moses was commissioned 



102 THE LIFE OE ELIJAH. 

to go and deliver Israel from the op- 
pressions of Pharaoh. 

Unconsciously he pauses to gaze ; 
and again he quickens his pace to- 
ward the mount of God. There at 
length arrived, and having toiled up 
its sides through narrow defiles and 
under overhanging cliffs, Elijah stands 
upon the very rock where Moses held 
that great interview with his Maker, 
and received the ten commandments 
written on tables of stone. 

Not a tree, or shrub, or blade of 
grass is to be seen on these bare and 
rugged mountains. But a crowd of 
hallowing thoughts rush into the mind. 
There, in full view, is the mighty de- 
sert where Israel journeyed ; there the 
springs by which they encamped ; 
there the spot where they fell into the 
v§ry sin for which God has now been 
chastising them — where they made 
the golden calf, saying, " These be 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 103 

thy gods, O Israel ;" there, in that 
boundless desert, and beneath those 
sands— -rolling and shifting like the 
waves of the ocean— the bones of 
those whom God cut off for idolatry 
were buried. 

Here was one of the best places for 
Elijah in his present state of mind. 
Was he disposed to think Israel at the 
present time more wicked and per- 
verse than ever before ? — he had only 
to cast an eye to the foot of the mount 
to behold the place where they made 
their golden calf, even w T hile Moses 
was talking with Jehovah, and the 
cloud of his presence was covering 
the top of Sinai, full in their view. 

Did Elijah say within himself, 
u My trials are greater than those of 
any of God's ministers T — from the 
place where he stood he might see the 
identical spot where Moses stood, sur- 
rounded by a tumultuous assembly of 



104 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

idolaters, in the midst of trials greater 
even than his. Was he fearing that 
God would no longer bear with such 
an incorrigible people? The wil- 
derness stretching out before him 
was the very place of their forty 
years' wanderings and murmurings ; 
but God did forbear, and even fed 
them in the midst of all their base in- 
gratitude, by a constant miraculous 
supply. 

The trials, the faith, and the pa- 
tience of those who have gone before, 
furnish very profitable subjects for re- 
flection in times of difficulty ; especi- 
ally when we can get a vivid impres- 
sion of them. 

When that great and good man, 
the Rev. Robert Hall, was passing 
through his last illness, he suffered 
the most excruciating pains. But the 
thought of his Saviour's sufferings, 
seemed almost to make him forget 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 105 

his own. "What," said he, "are my 
sufferings to the sufferings of Christ." 
He spoke of the nervous irritation oc- 
casioned by the nails driven through 
the hands and feet — the thirst — the 
oppression of breathing — the hurried 
action of the heart — of the ingratitude 
of those for whom he went about do- 
ing good — of the agonies of both body 
and mind w r hile he hung so long upon 
the cross ; and again spoke of the 
lightness of his own sufferings com- 
pared with those of his Saviour. 

Such reflections prove a sort of me- 
dicine to the soul in its hours of de- 
spondency. 

To have his memory refreshed with 
the history of past times, and to make 
the impression more striking, we may 
suppose were among the reasons w r hy 
Elijah was led to Horeb and Sinai in 
his present afflicted state of feeling. 

While he w r as on mount Horeb Eli- 



106 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

jah lodged in a cave. How he was 
fed while here we do not know. The 
mountain furnishes no kind of fruit. 
But perhaps the same heavenly spirit 
which fed him forty days before, still 
unseen, accompanied him, and again 
supplied his wants. 

While he was in the cave the word 
of the Lord came to him, saying, 
"What doest thou here, Elijah ?" 
Elijah replied, "I have been very jea- 
lous for the Lord God of hosts, be- 
cause the children of Israel have for- 
saken thy covenant, thrown down thy 
altars, and slain thy prophets with the 
sword; and I, even I only, am left; 
and they seek my life, to take it 
away." And the Lord told him to 
" Go forth, and stand upon the mount 
before the Lord." 

Suddenly a great and strong wind 
swept over the mountain ; the rocks 
were rent ; huge masses of the solid 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 109 

granite were loosened from the banks 
of the precipices, and mighty rocks 
rushed leaping and roaring to the 
plain below. But the Lord was not 
in the wind. The wind past, a solemn 
stillness succeeded the storm. But 
soon a hollow murmur was heard in 
the caverns of the mountain. The 
murmur rose — the mountain groaned 
— it heaved as though about to be 
rolled from its deep bed. Yawning 
caverns opened on every side, and the 
mountain rolled and stao;o-ered to and 
fro like a drunken man. But the Lord 
w T as not in the earthquake. 

The earthquake ceased. A lurid 
fire blazed forth — broad sheets of 
lig-htninor darted across the heavens. 
The whole mountain seemed a vast 
magazine of combustibles about to 
kindle into one vast fiery furnace. 
The fire was suddenly extinguished. 
But the Lord was not in the fire. After 



110 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

the fire u a still small voice 7 ' was 
heard. Elijah knew the Lord was in 
the still small voice. In reverence he 
wrapped his face in his mantle, and 
went and stood in the entering in of 
the cave. 

It is difficult for us to tell the mean- 
ing of all this scene. Some have sup- 
posed that, Elijah being now in the 
same place where God gave the law 
to Moses amid thunderings and light- 
nings, and the quaking of the mount- 
ain, he intended to favour Elijah 
in like manner, with a signal of his 
power and presence. But that to 
show him that the Lord delighteth in 
mercy more than in judgments, and 
that the religion which he was intend- 
ing to set up among men was one of 
lenity and sweetness, he appears in 
the still small voice. Perhaps the de- 
sign was to give Elijah an impression 
of God's majesty and might — to show 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. Ill 

him how easily he could punish trans- 
gressors ; and to let him see how 
dreadful a God the enemies of religion 
and the persecutors of his ministers 
w T ould have to contend with in the 
end ; and to show him also that in the 
present ivorld, God is speaking in the 
still voice of mercy and persuasion. 

After this the question w T as asked a 
second time, • - What doest thou here, 
Elijah?" 

Elijah answered as before, that he 
had been very jealous for the Lord ; 
that the interests of religion had lain 
very near his heart ; and he had done 
and suffered much for the cause ; but 
that Israel was incorrigibly wicked. 
They had forsaken his covenant, 
thrown down his altars, and slain his 
prophets with the sword; that he 
alone w 7 as left, and they were seeking 
his life. He seems to think that all 
the rest of God's prophets had perish- 



112 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH, 

ed; and that though the people had 
been forced to confess God when they 
saw the miracle on mount Carmel, yet 
that there was no real reformation; 
that, fickle as the wind, they would 
return to float with the general cur- 
rent, and again worship idols. 

Moreover, Elijah seemed to think 
there was no worshipper of Jehovah 
in all Israel but himself. What a mis- 
take ! How differently would he have 
felt if he could have looked over the 
cities of Israel as God looked. Here 
he would have found a pious family 
praying for the destruction of idolatry ; 
there another, offering up a petition 
for the removal of Ahab and Jezebel, 
and for a better monarch — one that 
feared God — in their place ; there, in 
a retired chamber, he would have 
heard a pious Israelite praying for the 
Prophet Elijah, that God would pro- 
tect him from the malice of Jezebel; 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 113 

that he would make him strong and 
courageous to carry forward the re- 
formation already begun. How would 
a view of the real state of things 
have cheered his heart, for God told 
him there were at this time " seven 
thousand who had not bowed the 
knee to BaaL" 

After God had both reproved and 
encouraged Elijah, he directed him 
to return, and on his way to the wil- 
derness of Damascus to anoint Ha- 
zael to be king over Syria, and Jehu 
the son of Nimshi to be king over 
Israel, and Elisha the son of Sha- 
phat of Abel-meholah to be a prophet 
in his room. He also told Elijah that 
he was preparing other means to cure 
Israel of idolatry : that these very 
persons whom he was now sent to 
anoint would be some of his chief 
instruments in doing so ; Hazael 
would be a great scourge to them, 



114 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

and slay many, and Jehu would de- 
stroy the house of Ahab, and Elisha 
the prophet should be his successor 
in prophesying among them, and 
chastising them by famines and judg- 
ments. For "it should come to pass 
that him that escaped the sword of 
Hazael Jehu should slay, and he that 
escaped the sword of Jehu Elisha 
should slay." 

So Elijah left Horeb and returned 
to Abel-meholah. This place lies a 
short distance from Samaria to the 
north-west, and near the foot of 
mount Gilboa, where Saul was slain 
in battle. He found Elisha in his 
field ploughing ; there were eleven 
yoke of oxen passing on before him, 
and he was following with the twelfth. 
Palestine was thickly inhabited, and 
exceedingly well cultivated. Even 
the sides of the mountains were form- 
ed into terraces and converted into 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 115 

gardens and vineyards. The portion 
of land owned by even wealthy men 
must have been comparatively small. 
Elisha therefore was probably quite 
a rich man to keep so many persons 
and oxen in his employ. But it was 
esteemed a very honourable employ- 
ment in those days to till the earth. 
The most - wealthy considered it no 
disgrace to follow the plough. There 
is something pleasing about these 
times of primitive simplicity. Abra- 
ham, though having princely pos- 
sessions, and servants enough to 
make a small army, walks forth with 
his shepherd's crook in his hand, su- 
perintending his affairs in person. 
Boaz is found among his reapers, 
and Elisha is in the field among his 
ploughmen. There is real independ- 
ence in sitting down to a table cover- 
ed with fruits which we have raised 
with our own hands. An honest farm- 



116 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

er is indeed one of the best and hap- 
piest of men. 

Though Elisha was well employed, 
God had still more important business 
for him to perform. So Elijah passed 
by him and cast his mantle upon him. 
And he left the oxen and ran after 
Elijah. Either it was the custom in 
those days for the prophets to show 
their successors that the Lord had 
called them, by casting their mantles 
upon them, or else probably Elijah 
told Elisha what he meant by that 
act. 

Elisha then asked permission to bid 
his friends adieu, saying, " Let me, I 
pray thee, kiss my father and my mo- 
ther, and then I will follow thee." 
Elijah gave him permission, and he 
returned back from him and took a 
yoke of oxen and slew them, and 
boiled their flesh, and gave unto the 
people and they did eat. Then he 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH.. 117 

arose and went after Elijah and mi- 
nistered unto him. 

The conduct of Elisha is on this 
occasion very commendable. He has 
many ties to bind him to that most 
dear of all earthly places, home. He 
had been accustomed to walk forth 
in his own pleasant fields. There 
were the cattle and the sheep quietly 
grazing in the verdant pastures. The 
beautiful vines covered the sides of 
the steep hills. The olive yards and 
the grain fields presented a delightful 
variety. These were the fields culti- 
vated by his ancestors, and doubly 
dear on that account. He must leave 
these. But much more — he must 
leave his aged parents. They were 
doubtless among the number who 
"had not bowed the knee to Baal." 
They had trained up a son whom 
they hoped should comfort them in 
their declining years. On his arm 



118 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

they expected to lean as they walked 
down the declivity of life. But God 
calls him. He must go to share the 
toils and the dangers, the privations 
and persecutions of Elijah. With 
mutual embraces and many tears 
they part; but it is the parting of 
pious parents and a pious son. He 
bids them a tender farewell and goes 
manfully to join the veteran Elijah, 
and they give him the parting bless- 
ing and resign him up to the service 
of God. 

Elijah in his despondency had par- 
ticularly complained of his lonely 
condition. "I only am left." How 
was his heart now cheered by the 
company of such a companion as Eli- 
sha, I almost seem to see them, as, 
sitting under the shade of a spread- 
ing olive, or sheltered by the foliage 
of the mantling vine, they converse 
upon the works and ways of God. 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 119 

The manly and dignified counte- 
nance of Elijah seems to partake of 
the sublimity of the scenes which he 
describes, while he speaks of what 
he had just been witnessing in the 
mount of God. Elisha sits listening — 
and an impression of awe is visible 
upon every feature — he looks upon 
Elijah almost as a being from another 
world. Closer and still closer are the 
strong and tender ties of affection 
drawn as their acquaintance matures. 
Elijah daily thanks God for such a 
companion, and Elisha rejoices to be 
counted worthy of enjoying the in- 
structions and sharing the perils and 
labours of Elijah. 

About this time Ahab and Jezebel 
seem to have found enough to do 
without hunting after Elijah. For 
Ben-hadad the king of Syria gather- 
ed together a mighty host, and with 
thirty-two tributary kings besieged 



120 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

Samaria. Though beaten at tne first 
attack, he came again the next year 
with a host quite as large. He was 
again repulsed ; but these wars filled 
Ahab with alarm, and turned his at- 
tention almost entirely to that quar- 
ter. It is somewhat remarkable that 
Elijah and Elisha are not mentioned 
during these wars. Other prophets 
are spoken of as bearing messages to 
Ahab ; but these two chief prophets 
did not see him during that whole 
time. But we need not suppose they 
were idle. They were doubtless 
searching out and encouraging those 
who worshipped the true God. They 
may also have taken this opportunity 
to revive " the schools of the pro- 
phets," and thus prepare a set of mi- 
nisters to carry forward the work of 
reformation. 

Though God had delivered Israel 
from the famine, and had sent his 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 121 

prophet to instruct and encourage 
Ahab, at a time when his courage 
was almost gone, and though he had 
delivered him from the overwhelm- 
ing hosts that had come up to de- 
stroy him, yet he did not repent of 
his sins. He was Ahab still — wicked 
as ever. 

There was a vineyard near to 
Ahab's palace in Samaria. It was 
doubtless a fruitful spot, and looked 
temptingly to Ahab. The gloating 
eyes of avarice are never satisfied. 
The miser is in pain to see any thing 
worth having belonging to another. 
This field belonged to an Israelite, 
w r hose name was Naboth. He was 
an honest and independent man, one 
who regarded the law of God, and 
respected the memory of his fathers. 
Ahab had possessions enough, pa- 
laces, gardens, orchards, vineyards, 
and pleasure-grounds ; but a miserly 



122 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

soul is never satisfied. And Ahab 
said to Naboth, " Give me thy vine- 
yard that I may have it for a garden 
of herbs, because it is near unto my 
house, and I will give thee for it a 
better vineyard, or if it seem good to 
thee I will give thee the worth of it 
in monev." And Naboth said to Ahab, 
" The Lord forbid it me that I should 
give the inheritance of my fathers 
unto thee." 

The request of Ahab was contrary 
to the law. A man's landed estate 
was regarded as a family inheritance. 
It belonged to his children as well as 
himself. If he was distressed for mo- 
ney, he might sell the use of it for a 
certain length of time, but he must 
not part with it for ever. If Naboth 
had sold his vineyard to Ahab to be 
converted into " a garden of herbs," 
there was little probability of its ever 
coming back. After once falling into 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 123 

such hands, the children of Naboth 
would never have been the better for 
it. Besides, it was valued by Naboth 
as the inheritance of his ancestors. 
This was the spot they had owned 
for many generations. Here were 
the trees they had planted ; this the 
very spot where they had toiled. — 
This soil had become sacred by ma- 
ny endearing associations. To sell it 
would be to dishonour his fathers, in- 
jure his children, and break the law 
of God. As kings were set to exe- 
cute the laws, and not to break them, 
Ahab had no business to buy Na- 
both's vineyard ; and Naboth acted 
like a good citizen in refusing to 
sell it. 

When Ahab heard the answer of 
Naboth, he went into his house much 
displeased. His pride was offended, 
and his covetousness disappointed. 
He threw himself upon his bed, and 



124 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

turning his face to the wall, refused to 
eat bread or be comforted. But Jeze- 
bel, coming in, inquired the cause 
of his sadness. " Because," said he, 
" I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, 
and said unto him, Give me thy vine- 
yard for money, or else if it please 
thee I will give thee another vineyard 
for it; and he answered, I will not 
give thee my vineyard." He says 
nothing of the reason wdiich Naboth 
gave why he would not sell him the 
vineyard. But this was a reason that 
he cared nothing about. It was a 
light thing for Ahab and Jezebel to 
trample on God's laws. 

On hearing Naboth's refusal to part 
with his vineyard, the haughty spirit 
of Jezebel at once kindles into rage. 
In a tone of biting sarcasm she re- 
proaches Ahab as cowardly, and act- 
ing beneath his dignity in tolerating 
the refusal. " Dost thou now," says 






THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 125 

she, " govern the kingdom of Israel ?" 
or, " In truth the king has very excel- 
lent authority in Israel. Arise and 
eat bread, and let thy heart be merry. 
I will give thee the vineyard of Na- 
both the Jezreelite." 

Jezebel now set about accomplish- 
ing her wicked purpose of getting the 
vineyard and revenging herself on 
Naboth for refusing to part with it. 
To do this she contrived a scheme of 
falsehood, perjury, and murder com- 
bined. She wrote letters in Ahab's 
name, and sealed them with his seal, 
and sent the letters unto the elders 
and to the nobles that dwelt in the 
city with Naboth. The Bible has 
recorded a copy of the letters. They 
were written in these words : " Pro- 
claim a fast, and set Naboth on high 
among the people, and set two men, 
sons of Belial, before him, to bear 
witness against him, saying, Thou 



126 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

didst blaspheme God and the king. 
And then carry him out and stone 
him that he may die." 

It was usual upon the approach of 
any great calamity, or the apprehen- 
sion of any national judgment, to pro- 
claim a fast. To conceal her de- 
sign against Naboth, Jezebel orders 
such a fast to be observed. By this 
means she intimated that there was 
some accursed thing or person among 
them, which was ready to bring down 
the vengeance of God upon their city 
— something which they should in- 
quire out and effectually remove. 
These days being employed in pun- 
ishing offenders, doing justice and im- 
ploring pardon of God, a fair oppor- 
tunity was afforded the elders for 
calling an assembly of the people and 
bringing forward the false witnesses 
to accuse Naboth. 

These nobles and elders knew Na- 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 127 

both to be innocent, but they were 
doubtless men of such character as 
Jezebel well knew would be willing 
to carry out her murderous plot. She 
knew her men, and selected the right 
kind of instruments. 

The day on which the fast is ap- 
pointed arrives. The people, igno- 
rant of the plot going forward, con- 
vene at the appointed place. An air 
of mystery hangs over the whole af- 
fair, and every one is wondering what 
is to be brought to light. Naboth is 
seized and placed in a conspicuous 
position before the multitude, as a 
criminal. Two bribed villains come 
forward as his accusers, and calling 
on the God of truth as a witness of 
their lie, they testify that Na,both has 
been guilty of blasphemy against 
God, and treason against the king*. 

7 o o 

Without giving him either time or 
opportunity to clear himself of the 



128 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

charge, his infamous judges pass sen- 
tence upon him and hurry him away 
to execution. But lest the estate 
should not be secured to Ahab, and 
the sons of Naboth should be left to 
claim the property of their murdered 
father, they are hurried forth and 
slain also. (See 2 Kings ix, 25.) A 
message is now sent to Jezebel, in- 
forming her that the plot has been 
executed — that Naboth is stoned and 
is dead. 

When Jezebel heard that Naboth 
was stoned and was dead, she said to 
Ahab, " Arise, take possession of the 
vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, 
w r hich he refused to give thee for 
money, for Naboth is not alive, but 
dead." What a message this for a 
woman to bear to her husband. In 
the female character we look for all 
that is mild, affectionate, and tender. 
We expect females to be the -friends 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 129 

of the afflicted and oppressed — to see 
them weep over scenes of distress, 
and shudder at the bare recital of 
deeds of blood. And generally we are 
not disappointed. If any one has a 
tear to shed over suffering humanity, 
if any one has a tongue to plead the 
cause of justice, if any heart is the 
abode of sympathy, it is usually wo- 
man's. But when a woman becomes 
shameless and abandoned, when she 
once gives herself up to work wick- 
edness, she is the most dreaded, 
fiendish being in existence. Fierce 
and cruel as a bear robbed of her 
whelps, like Herodias, she can feast 
her eyes on the bloody head of a 
murdered prophet, or like Jezebel, 
she can exult in reporting herself a 
murderer. 

And what shall we say of Ahab ? 
Unlike Jezebel, he had been brought 
up in the midst of a religious people 



130 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

who knew God. We cannot suppose 
he was unacquainted with the law. 
God had sent his prophets to instruct 
him, punished him with judgments, 
and wrought miracles before his eyes. 
Yet after all this, we find him allow- 
ing his wicked queen to use his name, 
seal, and authority, to murder an in- 
nocent and virtuous subject. And 
now, when the tidings arrive that 
Naboth is dead, he rises up and goes 
down to take possession of his vine- 
yard. Surely there should be a place 
of punishment for such wretches as 
Ahab and Jezebel. 

Ahab is now in the vineyard of 
Naboth. Here are the vines running 
upon the wall and climbing the trees 
— trained by the hand of Naboth. 
There is the wine-press and various 
implements which he had used. Here 
the arbours under which he had re- 
freshed himself. Ahab looks about 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 133 

him, feasting his eyes on his newly ac- 
quired possessions. All obstacles are 
now removed to his laying out his gar- 
dens as he pleases. Naboth is dead, 
and can no longer mortify his pride, 
nor refuse to gratify his desires. He is 
perhaps thinking of commencing his 
garden of flowers, and about to give 
orders to his gardeners to remove the 
vines planted by Naboth. But sud- 
denly he hears the sound of footsteps. 
He starts — has the murdered ghost 
of Naboth come to haunt the mur- 
derer? He turns about and meets 
the withering glance of the eye of the 
prophet Elijah. His heart sickens 
and trembles within him. But sum- 
moning up his sinking courage, and 
assuming a tone and aspect little ac- 
cordant with his real feelings, he cries 
out, " Hast thou found me, O mine 
enemy?" Elijah answers, "I have 
found thee, because k thou hast sold 



134 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

thyself to work evil in the sight of 
the Lord. Hast thou killed and also 
taken possession 1 Thus saith the 
Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon 
thee, and will take away thy posteri- 
ty, and w T ill cut off from Ahab every 
son. I will make thy house like the 
house of Jeroboam th& son of Nebat, 
and like the house of Baasha the son 
of Elijah, whose posterity were kill- 
ed, and from whom the kingdom was 
taken away because of their great 
wickedness. Thus saith the Lord, In 
the place where dogs licked the blood 
of Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood, 
even thine. And of Jezebel God hath 
declared the dogs shall eat Jezebel 
by the w r all of Jezreel. And him that 
dieth of Ahab in the city, the dogs 
shall eat, and him that dieth in the 
fields shall be eaten by the fowls of 
the air" 8 — vultures and other ravenous 
birds. 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 135 

This dreadful sentence was pro- 
nounced upon Ahab for his great 
wickedness, which far exceeded that 
of the most wicked kings which had 
reigned before him. For it is added, 
after the prediction of Elijah, that 
" there was none like unto Ahab, 
which did sell himself to work wick- 
edness in the sight of the Lord, whom 
Jezebel his wife stirred up." Ahab's 
children were included in the sen- 
tence, because God saw that they 
would follow the example of their 
sinful parents. Children need not be 
wicked because their parents are, 
especially in religious communities, 
where they have many opportunities 
of learning better ; but very generally 
they are. I hope, therefore, if any of 
my young readers have pious parents, 
they will learn to prize such a bless- 
ing ; that they will daily thank God 
in their prayers that they were not 



136 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

cursed with such parents as wicked 
Ahab and Jezebel. 

When Ahab heard the words of 
Elijah, he was shocked at the mes- 
sage, and for a moment his stubborn 
heart trembled, for he rent his clothes 
and put on a garment of sackcloth, 
and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and 
went softly or sorrowfully. But his 
repentance, though true, was imper- 
fect ; and his sorrow, though sincere, 
was of no long continuance. If he 
was driven in terror to his knees, and 
for a time wore the garb of peni- 
tence, yet his sorrow seems to have 
been too much because of the coming 
calamities, and too little because of his 
sins. Still, God, who is always long- 
suffering, and unwilling that any 
should perish, was pleased to grant 
him a short reprieve. And God said 
to Elijah, "Seest thou how Ahab 
humbleth himself before me ? be- 



THE LIFE OP ELIJAH. 137 

cause he humbleth himself before me 
I will not bring the evil in his days, 
but in his son's days I will bring the 
evil upon his house." 



CHAPTER V. 

Ahab forgets his penitence — Plans an expedition for 
the recovery of Ramoth Gilead — Goes contrary to the 
advice of Micaiah the prophet — Is slain — Dogs lick his 
blood according to Elijah's prediction — Ahaziah succeeds 
to the kingdom — His character — Falls through the lattice 
and is wounded — Sends to consult the god of Ekron — 
Elijah meets the messengers and tells them the king must 
die — Ahaziah, enraged, sends an armed band to seize the 
prophet — Fire falls from heaven and consumes them — A 
second band destroyed — Elijah goes with the third com- 
pany and announces to Ahaziah his death — He dies, and 
his brother Joram reigns over Israel. 

Three years had now passed away 
since Ahab's last war with Benhadad 
king of Syria, and considerable time 
had elapsed since the prophet had 
delivered his alarming message. 
Ahab had forgotten his penitence ; 



138 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

and because judgment was not speed- 
ily executed for his evil work, his 
heart was still set in him to do evil." 
Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, had 
formed a connection with Ahab's fa- 
mily by marrying his son to Ahab's 
daughter, and was now on a visit at 
Samaria. Ahab supposed this would 
be a favourable time to recover Ra- 
moth Gilead, which had formerly be- 
longed to Israel, but was now in pos- 
session of the Syrians. And he said 
to Jehoshaphat, " Wilt thou go with 
me to battle to Ramoth Gilead ?' Je- 
hoshaphat said he was willing to go, 
but wished Ahab first to inquire of 
the Lord whether he would go with 
them and prosper them. But Ahab, 
instead of inquiring of the Lord, ga- 
thered together the idolatrous pro- 
phets. These were probably Jeze- 
bel's four hundred prophets of the 
grove that were not present, and of 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 139 

course escaped when the prophets of 
Baal were slain. These lying pro- 
phets, knowing Ahab wished to go, 
and always ready to flatter, said, 
" Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it 
into thy hand." Jehoshaphat, being 
not at all satisfied with these pretend- 
ers, inquires, " Is there not here a 
prophet of Jehovah, that we might 
inquire of him ?" Ahab replies, 
" There is yet one man, Micaiah the 
son of Imlah, by whom we may in- 
quire of the Lord ; but I hate him, 
for he doth not prophesy good con- 
cerning me, but evil." Jehoshaphat 
gently reproved him, saying, " Let 
not the king say so." 

When Micaiah came, he first spoke 
ironically, and using the words of the 
false prophets, said, " Go up and pros- 
per." But the king perceiving it, said, 
" How many times shall I adjure thee 
that thou tell me nothing but what is 



140 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH*. 

true in the name of the Lord ?" Then 
Micaiah told him that God had per- 
mitted a lying spirit to take pos- 
session of his four hundred prophets ; 
that the Lord had spoken evil con- 
cerning him, and that instead of going 
up against Ramoth Gilead, every 
man ought to return to his house. 
When Ahab heard this, his anger 
kindled against Micaiah, and he com- 
manded him to be put in prison, and 
" fed with bread of affliction and wa- 
ter of affliction until he came again in 
peace." And Micaiah said, " If thou 
return at all in peace, the Lord hath 
not spoken by me." And calling on 
the people to mark his prediction, he 
said, " Hearken, O people, every one 
of you." Ahab, being determined to 
go, did not regard the command of 
God; and Jehosaphat, rather than dis- 
please him, sinfully yielded and went 
with him. For this he was near losing 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 141 

his life, and was afterward severely 
rebuked by a prophet of the Lord in 
Jerusalem. But being on the whole 
a good and virtuous king, God was 
pleased to spare and pardon him. 
But Ahab, who had taken the pre- 
caution of going into the battle in 
disguise, was shot by an arrow from 
one of the Syrian archers. On re- 
ceiving his wound, he said to the 
driver of his chariot, " Turn thine 
hand and carry me out of the host, 
for I am wounded.' 7 But lest his sol- 
diers should be discouraged, he was 
held up in his chariot by his servants 
through the day, while the blood con- 
tinued flowing from his wound, and 
at evening he died. As the prophet 
had predicted, the battle went against 
him — he did not prosper ; and at eve- 
ning a retreat was ordered. Ahab 
was carried to Samaria, and buried. 
The " chariot was washed in the pool 



142 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

of Samaria, and dogs licked tip his 
blood/' as Elijah had foretold. 

Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, was the 
next king of Israel. Like his father 
Ahab, he was under the influence of 
Jezebel his mother, who still lived. 
He proved a most v/icked king, for 
" he served Baal and worshipped 
him, and provoked to anger the Lord 
God of Israel, according to all that 
his father had done." 

Ahaziah had reigned but a short 
time when he met with a serious ac- 
cident. The roofs of eastern houses 
were flat, and were used as a prome- 
nade, or place to walk and enjoy the 
cool of the day. Ahaziah was walk- 
ing or standing on the roof of his pa- 
lace, when the wooden lattice gave 
way and he fell through. He was 
severely wounded, and fearing he 
should not recover, he sent messen- 
gers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 143 

god of Ekron whether he should re- 
cover or not. Baal-zebub means the 
god of flies. It is supposed he was 
so called by his worshippers because 
they considered him their defender 
against those troublesome insects. In 
Abyssinia Mr. Bruce tells us there is 
a species of large buzzing fly which 
is a terrible scourge to man and beast. 
"As soon as this plague appears," 
says he, " and their buzzing is heard, 
the cattle forsake their food and run 
wildly about the plain, and die worn 
out with fright, fatigue, and hunger. 
The camel, emphatically called by 
the Arabs the ship of the desert, 
though his size is as immense as his 
strength, and his body covered with 
a thick skin, defended with strong 
hair, still is not able to sustain the 
violent punctures made by this fly 
with his pointed proboscis. He must 
lose no time in removing from the 



144 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

P 

place where these creatures breed to 
the sands of Atraba, for when once 
attacked, his body, head, and legs 
break out into large bosses, which 
swell, break, and putrefy, to the cer- 
tain destruction of the creature." This 
same species of fly probably infested 
Ekron and the neighbouring parts, 
which led the superstitious pagans to 
seek in this idol a protecting god. 
Baal-zebub is supposed also to have 
been regarded as the god of medicine. 
Hence Ahaziah sent his messengers 
to inquire of him. There were priests 
or priestesses who lived in the temples 
of the various idols, who pretended to 
receive the answers of the god for the 
benefit of the inquirer. Some sup- 
pose that idol worship being just such 
as pleased evil spirits, they were con- 
cerned in giving answers to the priests. 
Others think the priests being sup- 
ported by the gifts of those who came 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 145 

to inquire, and, of course, deeply in- 
terested in keeping up the credit of 
their gods, gave the answers them- 
selves. At all events, these answers 
were usually of a character well wor- 
thy of proceeding from the "father 
of lies" or some of his followers. 
They were so worded as to mean 
either the one thing or the other. 
Thus, when Croesus, the Lydian mo- 
narch, was contemplating a battle with 
Cyrus, and inquired of a pagan idol 
or oracle, if he should succeed, he re- 
ceived for answer, "If Croesus cross 
the Halys, he will overthrow a great 
empire." This would have been true, 
whether he conquered or was con- 
quered; for, if he conquered Cyrus, 
he overthrew the i^ssyrian empire ; 
and, if he was beaten, he overthrew 
his own. 

That even the pagans should de- 
ceive themselves with such childish 
10 



146 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

trickery is surprising, but much more 
so that an Israelite like Ahaziah should 
be thus deceived. He knew the Pro- 
phet Elijah, and other prophets of the 
true God were in the land. He knew 
they uttered predictions that never 
failed. But probably he could say, 
like his father Ahab, " I hate them, 
for they do not prophesy good of me, 
but evil." He also knew that by his 
idolatries he had forfeited the favour 
of Jehovah, and perhaps supposed he 
would not answer his inquiries. He 
chose, therefore,to send toBaal-zebub, 
the idol of the Philistines. While his 
messengers were on their way, God 
told Elijah to go and meet them, and 
say unto them, " Is it because there is 
not a God in Israel that ye go to in- 
quire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ek- 
ron? Now, therefore, thus saith the 
Lord, Thou shalt not come down from 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 147 

that bed on which thou art gone up, 
but shalt surelv die." 

Overawed by the presence of such 
a venerable man, who spake to them 
with such authority in the name of 
the Lord, these messengers returned. 
And the king said unto them, " Why 
are ye now turned back?" They 
answered, " There came a man to 
meet us and said unto us, Go, turn 
again to the king that sent you, and 
say unto him, Is it not because there 
is not a God in Israel that thou send- 
est to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god 
Ekron? Therefore thou shalt not 
come down from that bed on which 
thou art gone up, but shalt surely 
die." Ahaziah asked what kind of a 
man he was that met them and told 
them these words, and when they had 
described him, he said, w It is Elijah, 
the Tishbite." Ahaziah had already 
shown himself a very obstinate sinner. 



148 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

For though so dangerously sick as 
to be constantly in fear of death, and 
though he knew what dreadful judg- 
ments had fallen upon his father for 
his idolatry, he still persisted in defy- 
ing the true God. Instead of repent- 
ing of his sins, he was sending to 
consult the idol-god of Ekron. And 
now that God had rebuked him by the 
mouth of his Prophet Elijah, instead 
of becoming penitent, he becomes 
furious, and sends a band of fifty sol- 
diers to seize Elijah. He, no doubt, 
intended to murder him. 

The captain, with his fifty soldiers, 
marched in search of Elijah, and 
found him sitting upon the top of a 
hill. When they saw him, the officer 
called out and said, " Thou man of 
God, the king hath said, Come down." 
These men were probably of the same 
spirit with their master. He wishes 
to get the prophet in his # power, and 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 149 

they are quite willing to execute his 
wicked purpose — to seize and deliver 
him. The very manner in which 
they addressed him was insolent and 
contemptuous. If he refused to come, 
they were, doubtless, ready to carry 
him by force. The reply of Elijah 
implies that they styled him a man 
of God, in derision. For he said, 
" If I be a man of God, let fire come 
down from heaven and consume thee 
and thy fifty." God saw the murder- 
ous purpose of their hearts, and felt 
the insult which was offered to him 
by this attempt upon the life of his 
prophet, and inspired Elijah to utter 
this solemn prediction of their over- 
throw. Immediately fire came down 
from heaven, and consumed him and 
his fifty. 

The king, madly fired with revenge 
and unawed by the fearful fate of his 
first company, sends a second captain 



150 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

with his fifty. We should suppose 
these would have been sufficiently 
w 7 arned by the fate of the others, to 
refuse to go on so wicked and dan- 
gerous an errand. But they went, 
and accosted the prophet in the same 
insolent strain as the former com- 
pany. 

Elijah, inspired as before, replied, 
" If I be a man of God, let fire come 
down from heaven, and consume thee 
and thy fifty." Instantly the fire fell 
upon them, and they were no more. 

An awful warning this to the 
wicked king and an idolatrous people ! 

Again the king sent another cap- 
tain and his fifty. It would appear 
that he did not alter his purpose, even 
now, for he sent another armed band. 
If he had sent a single person, not to 
force, but to invite the prophet to 
come, we might suppose the destruc- 
tion of his one hundred soldiers had 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 151 

taught him a little wisdom, if it had 
not brought him to repentance. The 
captain of this company came, how- 
ever, in a very different spirit from 
the others. For "he went up, and 
came and fell on his knees before 
Elijah, and besought him and said 
unto him, " man of God, I pray thee, 
let my life and the life of<these fifty, 
thy servants, be precious in thy sight. 
Behold there came fire down from 
heaven and burned up the two captains 
of the former fifties, therefore let my 
life now be precious in thy sight." 

And the angel of the Lord said un- 
to Elijah, f Go down with him, be 
not afraid of him." And he arose 
and went down with him to the king. 
And Elijah said unto Ahaziah, " Thus 
saith the Lord, Inasmuch as thou hast 
sent messengers to inquire of Baal- 
zebub, the god of Ekron, is it not be- 
cause there is no God in Israel to 



152 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

inquire of bis word ? Therefore thou 
shalt not come down from that bed 
on which thou art gone up, but shalt 
surely die." 

Either the destruction of the two 
companies of soldiers so far intimida- 
ted the king that, though he persisted 
in sending for the prophet, he yet 
dared not offer him violence ; or if he 
intended it, God restrained him, so 
that he could not. Whatever might 
now be his fears or his hopes, Elijah 
delivered his short, but pointed and 
fearful message, in the same manner 
he had delivered it to his servants. 
As Elijah had predicted, Ahaziah soon 
died, and Jehoram, his brother, suc- 
ceeded him as king of Israel 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 153 



CHAPTER VI. 



Elijah about to leave the world — God sets the seal of 
his approbation to his servant's fidelity, by translating 
him to heaven without seeing death — Other reasons for 
his translation — Visits the schools of the prophets — Divides 
the waters of the Jordan — His spirit descends on Elisha — 
Ascends to heaven in a fiery chariot — Visits the earth 
once more in company with Moses, after an absence of 
nine hundred years — Reascends to heaven. 

Elijah had now nearly finished 
his work on earth. His sorrows, 
toils, and persecutions were almost at 
an end. In great mercy to Israel, 
God had selected a man of a like 
spirit to be his successor. This man, 
having been with Elijah for a consi- 
derable time, had profited by his coun- 
sels and instructions. He had wit- 
nessed his faith, his patience, and his 
love to Israel. He had caught a large 
portion of his zeal and intrepidity, 
and had become well qualified to suc- 
ceed Elijah in carrying on the great 



154 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

work of reformation. Elijah felt great 
satisfaction in leaving the work in 
the hands of such a successor as 
Elisha. 

But God intended not only to furnish 
instruments to carry forward his work, 
but he also designed to make Elijah's 
departure from this world as great a 
blessing to his true worshippers as 
his life had been. For this purpose, 
he had resolved that Elijah should 
not die, but be translated, soul and 
body, to heaven. This would serve 
several useful purposes. First, it 
would convince both the friends and 
the enemies of true religion that those 
who trust in God have nothing to fear. 
Here was the very man who had been 
hated and persecuted by Ahab, Jeze- 
bel, and Ahaziah — whose life they 
had sought, with the power of the 
kingdom at their disposal. Here was 
the man over whose head the storm 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 155 

of vengeance had so often gathered, 
for whom those who " bowed not the 
knee to Baal " had often trembled 
and prayed, so far from falling a vic- 
tim to his merciless persecutors, that 
while dogs have licked the blood of 
Ahab, he is about to leave the world 
in triumph, without sharing the com- 
mon lot of even good men. How 
must this encourage Elisha and the 
other prophets, with all that rejoiced 
in the progress of reformation ! How 
would it encourage them to go for- 
ward in the name of Elijah's God 
against idolatry ! And how must it 
have disheartened Elijah's persecu- 
tors, and those who were endeavour- 
ing to destroy the worship of Jehovah, 
by promoting idolatry ! 

Secondly, God intended to impress 
on the minds of the people of Israel, 
and all coming generations, the doc- 
trine of a future existence — of an ex- 



156 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

istence of the body, as well as the 
soul. He had already given the men 
of a former wicked generation a proof 
of this doctrine, in the translation of 
Enoch. But it had been neglected, 
and he therefore intended to revive it. 
And while he thus set the seal of his 
approbation to the conduct of the 
man who had so nobly stood up in 
defence of religion, in a time of gene- 
ral wickedness, God also, in mercy to 
the world, left them an evidence of a 
future state to strengthen their faith 
and confirm their hopes. 

Thirdly, It was intended to give 
countenance and support to the great 
doctrine of the resurrection of the 
body, which makes so prominent a 
part of the preaching of Christ and 
his apostles ; for though Elijah was 
not raised, but changed like one of 
those who shall be alive at the time 
of the general resurrection, whose 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 157 

bodies shall be changed from mortal to 
immortal, and from weakness to power, 
yet his translation is a proof of God's 
power and intention to give our bodies 
a future life. All these great ends 
God no doubt had in view, so that 
Elijah was translated for the sake of 
others, quite as much as on his own 
account. We, and all others to the 
end of time, have reason to thank 
God for this great event. 

But to return to Elijah. He had 
now received the intelligence of what 
God was about to do. But, before he 
is translated, he must go to Bethel, 
and visit the " school of the prophets" 
in that place. To see this holy and 
venerable prophet once more would 
be a great satisfaction to the pious 
young men there. Elijah probably 
wished to leave them a faithful charge 
to be firm and undaunted in the cause 
of God. This charge would be 



158 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

doubly impressive on account of its 
being his last. 

Before Elijah set out. he said to 
Elisha, u Tarry here, I pray thee, for 
the Lord hath sent me to Bethel." 
He wished, perhaps, to give Elisha 
an opportunity of showing the strength 
of his attachment. But Elisha prized 
his company and last counsels too 
highly to be willing to give them up, 
and he said, " As the Lord liveth and 
as thy soul liveth, I will not leave 
thee." So they went down to Bethel. 
This was the place where Jeroboam, 
the son of Nebat, the first idolatrous 
king of Israel, had set up one of his 
golden calves. In this very seat of 
idol-worship, Elijah had succeeded 
in establishing a school of piety for 
young ministers of the true religion. 
This was also the place where Jacob 
lodged when he left his father's house 
and journeyed toward the country 






THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 159 

where his mother's brethren resided. 
It was in this place that he repented 
of his sins, and where he saw a vision 
of angels — where he promised to take 
the Lord for his God. It was Jacob 
who first gave it the name of Bethel, 
which signifies the house of God. 

When they drew near to Bethel, 
the young prophets came out to meet 
them. They had learned that Elijah 
was to be taken away, and came to 
see him for the last time. And they 
said to Elisha, "Knowest thou that 
the Lord will take away thy master 
from thy head to-day ?" And he an- 
swered, " Yea, I know it, hold ye your 
peace." He felt deeply solemn, and 
did not wish them to break in upon 
his meditations. He knew it was 
God's will, and wished both them and 
himself to yield in quiet submission. 
After Elijah had bid adieu to the 
prophets at Bethel, he said to Elisha, 



160 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

" Tarry here, I pray thee, for the Lord 
hath sent rne to Jericho." But Elisha 
replied. " As the Lord liveth, and as 
thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." 
So they came to Jericho. This was 
the first city in Canaan taken by 
Joshua. It was at that time sur- 
rounded with strong walls, around 
which the Israelites were commanded 
by God to march seven days. This 
they did once a day, probably keep- 
ing at a sufficient distance from the 
walls to avoid the arrows of their en- 
emies. On the seventh they uttered 
a loud shout, when God caused the 
walls to fall down, and delivered the 
city into their hands. Moses calls 
Jericho the city of palm trees. Jo- 
sephus says balsam trees also grew 
here. Here also was a school of the 
prophets. It was indeed an admira- 
ble place for such a school. Its his- 
tory would remind the young men of 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 161 

the God of miracles, and its natural 
beauty would lead them to admire 
the God of nature. 

The prophets of Jericho had also 
learned of Elijah's approaching de- 
parture, and they too addressed Elisha 
as did the prophets of Bethel, and 
received a like reply. Elijah, I sup- 
pose, left his last charge with these 
prophets Having here finished his 
work, he said again to Elisha, " Tarry, 
I pray thee, here, for the Lord hath 
sent me to Jordan." Elisha still re- 
fused to leave him, and they went on 
together to Jordan. As they went, 
fifty men of the sons of the prophets 
followed them at a distance, that they 
might see whither they would go, 
and what would be done. 

At length the waters of the Jordan 

were before them. At those seasons 

when the snows of Mount Lebanon 

melted under the heat of the sum- 
li 



162 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

mer's sun, and poured their numerous 
streams into its bosom, the Jordan 
was altogether impassable. It then 
swelled into a large and rapid river. 
It was probably high at this time ; 
but Elijah took his mantle and wrap- 
ped it together and smote the waters, 
and they were divided hither and 
thither, so that they two went over on 
dry ground. 

When they were gone over, Elijah 
said unto Elisha, " Ask what I shall 
do for thee before I be taken from 
thee." Elisha's greatest desire was 
to do good. He knew very well 
what difficulties and opposition must 
be encountered, but he felt no dispo- 
sition to shrink from the task. He 
only wanted a large measure of the 
spirit which had sustained Elijah ; he 
therefore said, "I pray thee, let a 
double portion of thy spirit rest upon 
me." Elijah replied, "Thou hast 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 163 

asked a hard thing, nevertheless if 
thou see me when I am taken from 
thee it shall be so unto thee ; but if 
not, it shall not be so." 

They still walked forward, con- 
versing together. Elisha was anxious 
to improve the few moments that re- 
mained in which he might enjoy the 
company of Elijah, and Elijah's affec- 
tions, though strongly drawn toward 
heaven, still lingered around his be- 
loved disciple. Perhaps they talked 
of the past, and what deliverances 
God had wrought for his servants — 
of Enoch, who w r alked with God in 
the midst of degenerate times, and 
" was not, for God took him ;" — of 
Noah, who preached righteousness to 
a wicked world, and was saved in the 
ark, being borne in safety on the 
tempest-tossed waves of the deluge ; 
that Elijah told Elisha to be strong 
and of good courage in carrying for- 



164 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

ward the work of reform in Israel, 
and refreshed his memory with the 
deliverances God had given to him. 
Then they would quite naturally talk 
of that heaven which Elijah was 
about to enter — of its rest from la- 
bours, sufferings, and persecutions — 
of the society all pure and glorious, 
and of the arrival of Elisha, which 
would be in a very little while. In 
the midst of their conversation, " be- 
hold there appeared a chariot of fire 
and horses of fire, and parted them 
both asunder, and Elijah went up by 
a whirlwind into heaven." We can- 
not give any very precise explanation 
of these words. We may suppose 
that a bright and radiant cloud, which, 
as it ascended, might appear like a 
chariot and horses, raised Elijah from 
the earth and wafted him to the seats 
of the blessed. When our Saviour 
ascended from Bethany, a cloud re- 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH; 165 

ceived him. Elijah's ascension ap- 
pears to have been a type of the 
Saviour's, and probably it was a lu- 
minous cloud which received him. 

When Elisha saw Elijah departing, 
he cried, "My father, my father, the 
chariot of Israel and the horsemen 
thereof." By calling him his father, 
he meant that he was his guide and 
instructer, and dear to him as his own 
father. The expression, " The cha- 
riot of Israel and the horsemen there- 
of," alludes to the appearance he then 
saw, and seems to imply that Elijah 
by his counsel, prayers, and labours, 
did more for the preservation and de- 
fence of Israel than all their chariots 
and horses and other warlike prepar- 
ations. All good men, but especially 
those of great wisdom and piety, are 
a defence to their country. They are 
far better than an army. Elisha saw 
Elijah no more, and in token v of his 



166 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

sorrow he rent his clothes. The 
mantle of Elijah had fallen from him 
as he ascended, and Elisha took it 
up. It was a token of his succeeding 
Elijah in the prophetic office, and that 
his spirit was to rest upon him. 
Elisha now went back, and: stood by 
Jordan. The waters had returned to 
their place, and were rolling their dark 
waves before him; but he took the 
mantle that had fallen from his as- 
cending companion, and said, " Where 
is the Lord God of Elijah V and when 
he had also smitten the waters, they 
parted as before, and Elisha went 
over. When the sons of the prophets 
who had followed from Jericho saw 
this miracle, they said, " The spirit of 
Elijah doth rest on Elisha." And 
they came to meet him, and bowed 
themselves to the ground before him 
in token that they received him, and 
would be subiect to his instructions as 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 167 

they had been to those of Elijah. 
And they said unto him, " Behold 
now there are with thy servants fifty 
strong men ; let them go, we pray 
thee, and seek thy master, lest per- 
adventure the Spirit of the Lord hath 
taken him up and cast him upon some 
mountain or into some valley." And 
he said, "Ye shall not send." And 
when they urged him until he was 
ashamed he said, " Send." They sent 
fifty men who searched for him three 
days, but they found him not. They 
then gave over the search, and re- 
turned to Jericho, where Elisha had 
tarried during their absence, and he 
said unto them, " Did I not say unto 
you, Go not ?" 

Elijah was now in heaven with 
Enoch, Noah, and Moses, men who 
like him had toiled, wept, and suffered 
for the cause of God. But his pre- 
dictions did not fall to the ground. 



168 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

Elisha, taking up the work where he 
had left it, sent, according to God's 
commands, and had Jehu anointed 
to be king of Israel. Jehu immedi- 
ately commenced executing the sen- 
tence which had been passed upon 
the family of Ahab. He met the 
reigning King Joram on the field of 
Naboth, for which Jezebel had caused 
his murder, where he charged him 
with his iniquities, and immediately 
shot him dead in his chariot. Passing 
on he rode to Jezreel, where the infa- 
mous Jezebel looked out from the 
palace window. On seeing her, Jehu 
called out to two or three persons 
who were with her to cast her down. 
They did so, and as she fell her blood 
was sprinkled upon the wall and the 
horses, and she was trodden under foot. 
Jehu and his party then went into the 
city and dined. After dinner he com- 
manded his servants, saying, "Go 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 169 

and look after this cursed woman; 
and bury her, for she is a king's 
daughter." But when they came to 
the place, nothing could be found of 
her but the skull, the feet, and a part 
of the hands. The dogs, which in 
Palestine were despised and hated, 
and ran in troops about the city, and 
were of a wild and savage character, 
had eaten Jezebel. Thus was Eli- 
jah's prediction fulfilled. The house 
of Ahab was cut off, " and dogs eat 
Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel." A 
sore judgment also awaited the rest 
of the worshippers of Baal. Elijah 
had warned them — God had sent a 
famine upon them, and wrought a 
striking miracle on Mount Carmel to 
convince them of their folly and turn 
them to his worship; but many of 
them would not repent, and now the 
day of their calamity had come. Jehu 
had sent and commanded them all to 



170 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

come together in one grand assembly. 
They supposed he was intending 
to have a great festival in honour 
of Baal; but when they were all 
assembled, he ordered his soldiers to 
cut them all off at a stroke. Thus 
perished these miserable idolators. 

Israel did not, however, entirely 
forsake idolatry, and God finally, after 
many years' forbearance, gave them 
into the hands of their enemies, who 
carried them from their country and 
made them slaves. Judah also fell 
into idolatry. God sent them many 
prophets, and bore long with them; 
but they were finally cured of this 
sin by a seventy years' captivity in 
Babylon, after which many returned 
from both kingdoms, and united in 
one nation. They fell into many 
other sins after their return, but never 
again into idolatry. Thus the work 
of overthrowing idolatry, in which 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 171 

Elijah had acted so prominent a part, 
was completed. 

We hear once more of Elijah after 
his ascension. About nine hundred 
years had rolled away since he left 
the land of Israel ; Elisha had finish- 
ed his earthly pilgrimage, and had 
joined him. Many pious Israelites, 
the fruits of their united labours, they 
had been permitted to welcome into 
the " everlasting habitation." The 
glories of heaven had been opening 
upon them, and angels and glorified 
spirits had been their companions. 
The wicked had long since ceased 
from troubling, and their weary souls 
had been at rest. The Saviour had 
left the courts of bliss, and gone down 
to those very mountains and plains 
where Elijah had so often been. 
Here he had wrought miracles ; but 
they were all miracles of mercy. He 
had opened the eyes of the blind, un- 



172 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

stopped the ears of the deaf, and re- 
stored the dead to life. He had 
healed all manner of sickness and 
diseases. He was now about to suf- 
fer, that he might atone for the sins 
of men — to lay down his life, " that 
whosoever believed on him might not 
perish but have everlasting life." To 
comfort his sorrowing disciples, to 
whom he had made known his ap- 
proaching sufferings and departure — 
to confirm their faith in him as the 
Messiah — to establish them in the 
belief of a future existence, Jesus 
took Peter, and James, and John, 
and ascended into a high mountain. 
While he prayed, his face became 
bright as the sun, his raiment white 
as the light. And there appeared 
two heavenly beings talking with 
him ; these were Moses and Elijah, 
the giver and the restorer of the law. 
They conversed with the Saviour 



THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 173 

about his approaching sufferings and 
death — not to give, but to receive in* 
struction. This high privilege was 
probably conferred on these two holy 
men, because they had been among 
the chief instruments of promoting 
the cause of religion in the world. 
They appeared in their glory to en- 
courage the apostles who had before 
them a host of difficulties and persecu- 
tions. When they afterward thought 
of these holy men they would think 
of their former labours and sufferings, 
and of their present glory ; and they 
would look forward to such a glory 
as their own great reward. They 
were also about to commence preach- 
ing the great doctrine of the resur- 
rection, and here they had a specimen 
of the glory of the resurrection body. 
Overjoyed at what he saw and felt, 
Peter said, " Lord, it is good for us to 
be here ; if thou wilt, let us make here 



174 THE LIFE OF ELIJAH. 

three tabernacles ; one for thee, and 
one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 
As he spoke these words, a bright 
cloud oversViado wed them, and a voice 
out of the cloud said, " This is my 
beloved son, in whom I am well 
pleased. Hear ye him." "When the 
disciples heard this, they fell on their 
faces, and were sore afraid. But 
Jesus came and touched them, and 
said, "Arise, be not afraid. And 
when they had lifted up their eyes 
they saw no man. The chariot of 
the Lord had received Elijah the 
second time, and borne him to the 
abodes of the blessed, where he wait- 
ed to hail the arrival of the Saviour, 
and welcome Peter, and James, and 
John when their work should be done 
and their warfare accomplished. 



^Gis i 



THE END. 



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